It's been a while, but I still feel the same
by AnnaCarol123
Summary: AU/AH. Stefan and Elena meet up 3 years after graduation. Will things be how they once were, or will the death of her parents and their unresolved business keep them apart for good?
1. Chapter 1

It was a rainy, clouded day. One of those days all you want to do is stay in bed, with a bowl of Oreos, a good book, you headphones on and just forget the world. The perfect day to cuddle with your boyfriend under the sheets watching whatever movie came up on the TV. Well, it was also the perfect day for a funeral. She always though it only happened in movies. I mean, what are the chances of a rainy, ugly day being the exact day you have to burry someone you love? What are the chances? But it didn't only happen in movies. It was happening right now, to her. With 7 billion people in the world, it had to be her. She didn't usually like rain, but today, she wouldn't have wanted it to be any other way. If she cried, the sky would cry along with her. If there wasn't a single sunshine in her life, it was only fair that the imensity above her head didn't have one eigther. Elena took one last look in the mirror, taking in what she saw. Her image reflected the mess she was on the inside, but she didn't really care. All she had to do now was make it through the day. She could do this. She lowered her head back to her diary, which was open on the night before's entry.

"Dear Diary,  
The worst day of loving someone is the day you lose them. All you're left with are memories of how great it used to be, and the only thing it does to you is prove that the bad things stay with you. You can't scape them.  
The night before this, my parents got involved in a car accident. They went off of Wickery Bridge and into the lake. By the time they were able to get to them it was too late. I can't even beging to imagine what was like being down there, knowing full-well that you had only another minute to live and not being able to do anything about it. But I know what it feels like to be out here, safe, and it's not any better. I'm not going to cry. I can't! For Jeremy, I have to stay strong for Jeremy"

It had been such an exausting day she fell asleep before she could finish that entry. Everything she needed to write was there, though. She was not going to cry. She would be strong.

"Elena, are you ready to go?" Jenna called her from the hall.

"Yeah, give me a sec." She closed her journal and hid it in the bottom shelf behind an old chemestry book she didn't know she still had and her original copy of Wuthering Highs. The copy was falling apart. She didn't even dare to open it anymore, afraid she'd ruin it like she did with everything that she touched. She only did keep it because it was a very special gift from a unbelievably special person, and well, it was the perfect hidding spot.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jeremy asked her when she caught up with Ric, Jenna and him an the door.

"I'm fine." She lied. "Let's go."

One and a half hours. That's how long Elena had to smile and thank people when they said they were sorry about her parents. They were about to actually burry the bodies and she was barely keeping it together. _Don't cry_, she had to remind herself. She looked around the place, surprised with the amount of people she had never seen in her life that showed up. A pair of green eyes caught her attention in between the crowd. Those same green eyes that were locked on her from the moment she got there. Green eyes whose owner was the only person in that crowd not to go talk to her that day. Or the past 3 years for that matter. Elena didn't look away this time like she had done many times in the past hour. She kept her look on his for a minute or so before she was forced to interrupt their stare by Ric calling her name.

"Elena, we have to go, they're taking them right now." Ric said behind her, and she started walking in automatic mode.

One foot after other. The closer they got, the stronger the ache in her throat became. _Don't cry_. It's all she could think. And the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to give in. _It's for Jeremy. Stay strong for Jeremy._ One by one they made their speeches. First of all was Jenna, then John, even Jeremy said a few words. Elena was completely off, though. Not listening to a word they all said, because she knew that if she did, there is no chance she would be able to do what she started the day saying she would do. And then, finally, it was her turn. She walked slowly to the microphone with her head lowered down to avoid the pityful stares. She cleaned her throat and looked up to face the crowd in front of her. Again, her look was instantyl locked in the deep green eyes. Still facing him, she opened her mouth to star her speech, but no words came out of her mouth. Her vision started to get blury. _Oh, no! Don't cry!_ She told herself, but it was useless. Tears were already streaming down her face and she was shaking uncontrolably. Eveyone was staring at her with their disgusting pityful looks. She looked behind her and Jenna, Ric and John were looking at her the same way. Or that's what she thought, at least. She didn't dare to look at Jeremy, though. She said she'd be strong for him, and all she was able to do was mess up and be a big desappointment to him - _to them_ - she was sure of it. Elena was about to pass out when she felt a pair of strong arms around her. She burried her face in his chest and let him comfort her. He stroke her hair few times, before pulling away from her just enough for him to whisper something in her ear she was not able to understand and both of them walked away from the crowd.

"Hey, stay here, I'm gonna get you some water to calm you down, okay?" He said when her sobs were over and she had recomposed herself.

"No," Elena hurried to say, holding him by his arm. "don't leave me."

"Come here." He pulled her close to him again, not letting go of her this time. Several minutes went by and they kept quiet, observing the end of the funeral from a distance. Elena burried her face in his shirt, letting herself enjoy his scent. God, she had missed it.

"Elena, there you are! Are you okay?" Jenna said, after aproaching them. She looked at the man by her niece's side, waiting for one of them to give an answer to her question. When it didn't happen, she spoke again. "It's over now, let's go home. Come on, get up." She commanded.

"Jenna, I don't think..." Jenna sent the guy a cold, desapproving stared and he stopped talking. That was a family situation, and he had stopped being family a long, long time ago.

"Home? Is this a joke? My mother and my father are dead. I don't have a home. Not without them!" Elena cried. Her whole being trembling. It was not Jenna's fault, it was no one's fault, she knew that, but it was a hell of a lot easier to drop everything over her aunt's shoulder, than to try and calm herself down. She spent the whole day trying to be strong. She was tired, exhausted. The easy way out seemed a lot more tempting right now.

Without a warning, Elena stood up and started walking away. Only when she heard John and Jenna screaming her name, she realized she had stopped walking and started running. Her legs were weak and she having trouble breathing, but she kept going. She ran for about 15 minutes, though it seemed a lot longer.

"Didn't know you could run that fast." He shouted from the red Porsche that stopped by her side.

"Me either." She said out of breath, stopped and looked at him.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked.

"I'm not going back there, Stefan, if that's why you're here you're wasting your time!" Elena protested. Nothing he could ever do would make her change her mind. She wanted to be away from her family. From everything and everyone who reminded her of _them_. She wanted to go away and never come back.

"I don't want you to go back." He told her, with a warm, barely visible smile. "I want to you take me with you."

**XXXXX**

**Hey guys! This is my first Stelena fanfic, so I'm still not very good at it. It would mean the world to me if you could review and let me know what you think. The things you like, and the things you think could be better. **

**Anyway, hope you guys like it and give it a chance. xoxo**


	2. Chapter 2

"Where are you going? Get in, I'll take you." Stefan offered.

"I though I was the one supposed to take you with me." She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for him to say something. Part of her really wanted to let him take her, anywhere he wanted, but the other part was so angry at him for leaving three years ago that all she wanted was for him to disappear and let her grief by herself.

"Right." He turned the ignition off and stepped out of the car. "Where are we going?" He said looking into her eyes, and when she didn't answer he took her hands in his and asked again. "I'm coming with you, 'Lena, where are we going?"

"No one has called me 'Lena' since you left." She told him quietly, lowering her head. Stefan felt his heart sink a little. They weren't supposed to tak about what happened this soon. Specially not today. Elena was already so emotionally fragile, he couldn't let her bring this up today. If she asked him to leave her alone, he'd get into his car and go. The last thing he wanted was to break her even more. Stefan knew Elena like the back of his hand. He knew that even though he probably meant nothing to her anymore, bringing those memories back would hurt her so much, and adding the pain and grief of her parent's death, well, it would probably be enough to break her to the point of no repare. He kept looking at her, trying to catch her look. He expected her to yell, be angry, but when she looked up at him she was completly calm. He tried to read her expression but he couldn't. Longing, maybe? He couldn't tell. "I don't know where to go." She finally said.

Stefan squeezed her hands in a supportive way, and smiled at her lovingly, brushing away every thought of letting her be alone in that moment. "Let me take you then." Seeing the hesitance in her eyes, he hurried to continue. "It's okay, 'Lena, you can trust me." She nodded and he had the impression of seeing a shadow of a smile.

Stefan had been driving her away for the past 45 minutes in silence. Elena simply layed back on her seat and waited for them to get to whatever place they were going. She was glad he wasn't talking, because she had no desire to talk about her feeling. Either towards the recent events or towards him. She couldn't help but wonder though, why did he leave?Why did he come back? She wanted to ask him those questions because everyday since he went away she had asked herself what had she done wrong, and she swore to herself that if she ever got the chance she'd ask him, but now she does have a chance, but has no courage to open her mouth. Maybe when they get where they're going she'll ask. Right now, all she needed was to sit back and rest.

"Elena" She heard someone call her name, then laugh and call her again. She slowly raised her head and openned her eyes.

"What?" She answer, waiting for her blury vision to focus on the person talking to her.

"You fell asleep." He laughed again. She missed that laugh. "Come on, we're here."

"And where's here exactly?" She asked, straightening her clothes and taking a quick look at herself in the rearview mirror before stepping out of the car. He held the door open for her, then closed it behind her.

"Don't you remember?" He asked, trying to hide the disappointment that this little place had so little importance to her that she couldn't even remember it. Stefan was already walking in the direction of a little coffee shop, when Elena followed him. She looked around while doing so, but she had no memory of ever being there.

"Seriously, where are we?" She asked again. He glanced nervously at her for a second before openning the door and letting her in. The place was dimly lit, and Elena had to blink a few times before her eyes could adjust to the lack of light.

"Choose a booth. I'll order for us." With that, he left her side and she looked around, looking for a reserved booth when she remembered being there. She walked over to the last booth on the right, next to a window. The same one they chose the last time they were there. The place hasn't changed a bit in the last four years, or at least not that she could remember. Elena was so lost in her own head she didn't even notice when Stefan came back. "You know, if you don't drink it now it'll get cold and gross, just the way you hate it."

"Sorry, um, I was..." She took a sip of her coffee so she wouldn't need to tell him what was on her mind.

"Americano. Extra shot. Still your favorite, right?" He asked confidently. She simply nodded. "And that muffin with the chocolate thingy over it..."

"Just the way I like it." She smiled and took a bite of her muffin. "Four years and I still haven't found a better muffin."

"Um, so you do remember being here." He said in a teasing tone.

"Oh, yes. There was a lot more touching and kissing the last time, though." She said in a fake teasing tone, waiting for his reaction to the whole thing. Would he play along like it was normal or would he be his usual self and apologize a thousand times for everything?

"Yeah, that was a great weekend!" He smirked and said after a long moment of thinking and poundering, or so thought Elena.

"For you." She said, taking another sip of her now getting cold coffee.

"For me? I remember you enjoying yourself very much, Miss Gilbert." He teased her again. She looked down to hide the smile that had formed on her face. She looked back up and his perfectly shapped pink lips were curved into a smile too. She missed that smile.

"I can't believe you convinced me to run away with you." Both of them laughed at the memory. One day Stefan showed up on her doorstep with two bags of his own, telling her to pack her things and go away with him. Her family was out of town, and the next day when they came back they found a note stuck in the refrigerator saying she was with Stefan somewhere and wound come back on monday. They were so angry at her when she came back that they actually locked her in her room for a week without her phone or computer. Stefan had to sneak in through the window to see her. "My parents almost killed me because of you." A laugh tried to scape her but it got stuck in her throat. Tears started to fill her eyes and she looked away, trying to hide them from him.

"Hey," he rested his hand over hers for support, like he had done a million times before. Even though it was cold outside, his hand was warm and his touch sent a wave of heat along her body, calming her down. "you can talk to me about it, you know that. I'm here for you." Elena looked from their now interwined hands to his face. She studied the lines of his face for a long moment, taking in all the details she already knew by heart.

"How was it for you? I mean, when... when your parents died?" Her question took him by surprise. All Elena knew about his parent's death is that he was too remember much of them. He never felt like talking about it, and she never asked. He looked at her nervously. "I'm sorry, I know you don't like to talk about it, but-"

"My mom died giving birth to me." He interrupted her. "And my father," he licked his lips and hesitated for a moment. "he died in a plane crash when i was 5." She squezed his hand, and he smiled at her. "It gets easier, Elena. You won't be sad forever."

"I don't know, I feel like..."

"You feel like it's the end of the world, I know. But it isn't." She looked at him in disbelief. How could he say it wasn't the end of the world when that's exactly how it feels like? "The only family I had left after my father was Damon, since Zach was always too busy running the family company. You have Jenna, and Ric, and Jeremy, your friends... and me. I'm here for you, whatever you need." She let go of his hands, forced a smile and looked the other way. He took that as a sign that she didn't want to talk anymore.

They fell into an absolut and comfortable silence while she finished her coffee and her muffin. He took the time to look at her, really look at her. He noticed her hair was a bit shorter and her eyebrowns seemed different. Other than that she looked exactly the same. His eyes wondered a little more and his look fell on her right hand, more especificaly on the white gold ring with a big green rock on it. "It's a beautiful ring." He said, pointing to her hand.

"Um, yeah, I, it was a gift." She replied shortly, not wanting to talk about it. He'd ask questions she really didn't want to answer.

"And I see you still wear that thing."

"What?" Her hand instantly moved to her neck and touched her necklace, like an instinct and he smirked. "Oh," she laughed nervously. "it's pretty." she said simply.

"Of course it's pretty, I was the one who gave it to you!" He joked, trying to lighten the mood. She laughed and rolled her eyes at him. "You know what you need?"

"What?" She asked curiously.

"Fun." He said simply while he got up and extended his hand for her to grab. "Normalcy. Let's go away for the day, just the two of us. Get your mind off of things." He added. "Get up, come on!"

Elena hesitated for a moment before grabbing his still extanded hand. He helped her up and ran with her outside. "But what are we gonna do?" She asked laughing at how excited he was.

"Where do people go to have fun, Miss Gilbert?" He grinned before getting in the car with her and driving away once again.

xxxxx

"A theme park? Really?" Elena rolled her eyes at him while they walked to the entrance of the park. "This is how you're gonna cheer me up?" She gave him a diesbelieving look but in reality it was quite amusing.

"Don't give me that look, you like this idea as much as I do." He bumped his shoulder on hers. "I'm gonna get our tickets!" He said before running to buy their tickets.

Elena was left by herself for only a minute before memories of her as a child going to theme parks with her parents and her brother flooded her mind. Maybe this was a bad idea, coming here. Or going anywhere for that matter. Maybe she needed to be alone in her room for some time, away from Stefan. She still had so many questions to ask him, so many things they needed to talk about, but instead, they were going on like nothing had ever happened, like those three years never existed. She would go up to him and tell him to take her home and not look for her anymore. But then again he got her mind off of all the grief and pain and made her smile, even if it was just for some brief moments. And he got her to laugh, and she missed laughing. Not only because of the recent events, she hadn't laughed, truly laughed in a while. Maybe her life was already sad before becoming tragic. And maybe she needed this. Not only some fun, but him. Not in a way she had wished for a long time now. Probably since they met, actually. No. She needed his presence. Maybe what she needed a friend. She was again so lost in thought that she didn't notice him returning until he put his hand on her shoulder.

"You okay?" He asked silently.

"Yea... Yeah, I'm okay." She grabbed his hand, surprising him. "Let's go, I wanna know if you still scream like a little girl on the fast roller coasters."

The rest of their day was filled with roller coaster rides, those bumper cars Elena used to hate, but particularly enjoyed today, and Stefan even made her go on the carousel with the little kids taking many laughs out of her, as well as lots of desapproving looks from parents watching their kids or wating on the line. **  
**

"You keep those pictures to yourself!" She said as she went through the pictures of her riding the little horses.

"Or?" He smirked.

"Or I'll tell everyone the way you react to roller coasters." She gave him his phone back and took another bite of the cotton candy he bought her.

"You wouldn't!" He said in a fake offended tone.

"You know I would." She blinked at him. "It's getting late." She said, a lot more quietly, bothered by the fact that they'd be returning home soon.

He looked at the moon above their heads and down at her, who looked even more beautiful under that light, if that was possible. "Yeah, we should probably go back." He brushed a strand of hair away from her face before adding. "There's one more thing I want to do though."

He led them to a something like a tent she hadn't noticed before. It's walls were covered in toys, prizes, and in the center of it there was a target. Stefan payed the guy sitting in a chair beside the prizes and he handed Stefan the dards.

"Stefan, you're terrible at this." She laughed silently.

"What? I got you a great koala once, if I recall correctly." He said.

"Yeah, because the guy took pity on you." She remarked and he looked offended.

"Well, let's hope I have a better luck this time." He positioned himself in front of the target, took a deep breath and threw the firts dard. For Elena's surprise it hit the second circle, earning Stefan more points than he had gotten all the 27 times he tried when he got her the koala.

"How did you do that?" She asked surprised.

"Maybe I learned a thing or two since the last time we saw each other." He blinked at her and positioned himself again. He took a deep breath and threw the dard, hitting right in the middle of the smallest circle. "I didn't want to make an ass of myself again, so I made sure to know what I'm doing before trying to get you anything again." He laughed nervously. Why, Elena didn't know. "Go on, Miss Gilbert, pick you prize." She smiled and walked in the direction of the wall with the prizes in it.

"You can choose any of them." The guy told her. She pointed to the one she wanted and the guy handed it to her.

"A gigantic koala? Seriously?" Stefan asked with a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, well, koalas are my fovorite."

"Since when?" He asked.

"Since sophomore year."

xxxxx

Their way back home was silent, but not awkward at all. They had a busy day and Elena was tired, so Stefan let her be for a while. Stefan felt bad though. After the day they had he couldn't help but being all smiles. He knew she had a good time too, but that sadness couldn't just desappear because they had some fun. The sadness she was feeling was constant. Like a part of your heart had been ripped out from your chest. Just a small part. Enough for you to feel the hole it left there, but not enough to make your heart stop beating altogether. He only felt like that twice in his life: when he was a little kid, and 3 years ago. It is the worst feeling in the world. And he felt bad because there was nothing more he could do to make that feeling go away. _You got her to smile, Stefan. Baby steps. She'll get through it. _He reminded himself.

They finally arrived at her house. He openned the car door for her and helped her with the huge bear he got her. In silence, they walked to her door, and they awkwardly stood there.

"If you need _anything_ you know where to find me." He said before leaning in and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Good night, Elena." He added before turning around and waling back to his car.

"Stefan!" She called his name making him stop. _Now, Elena, ask him. You can do it._

_"_Yes?" He said while turning around to face her.

"Thanks you." _Another time, maybe. _She thought to herself. She had no strength in her being to do that now. "For today" She added. "It meant a lot to me." He nodded, got into his car and drove away. Elena stood there, watching his car until it made a right turn on the road and she lost sight of it. Elena sighed and searched for her keys in her purse. She openned the door and sighed again before stepping in.

She was back to reality.

**XXXXX**

**I like this relationship they have, but sooner or later they will have to talk about what happened. But what exactly happened?**

**I tried to make this chapter longer than the first, so it took me a little while to post. Sorry for that. **

**Hope you guys like it and make sure to let me know what you think on the reviews. xoxo**


	3. Chapter 3

_Elena couldn't stop looking at the clock. They still have 10 more long minutes until the end of the last class of the day, but she was growing impatient. Stefan had asked her to meet him after class because apparently he had something to give her. A gif. When she asked him what was it, all he said was that she would have to wait and see, but that he was sure she would like it. Elena usually hated surprises. They always made her all nervous, and she hated feeling that way, because it was like she didn't have total control over herself. She didn't like it one bit, but with Stefan it was a good feeling. She was nervous, yes, but it wasn't the usual feeling of nervousness. It wasn't scary or unenjoyable. It was exciting and chalenging, kind of. She couldn't explain it, but it was good. It was the best feeling she had ever experienced in her life._

_When finally the bell rang, Elena was the first to get to the door. Without even stopping at her locker she ran to the other side of the school hoping to catch up with him._

_"How did you get here so fast?" Stefan laughed at her eagerness to find out what was the surprise, after she caught up with him in front of his math class._

_"Long legs, I can walk real fast." She said, with a grin on her face. Stefan's eyes fell on her legs, analyzing them and taking a particularly long time in her tights, half exposed by the mini skirt she was wearing. Elena noticed his looks and blushed, taking a step to the side and staring to walk alongside him. Stefan smirked, but when he openned his mouth to make a comment, Elena spoke again. "I'm sure you didn't ask me to meet you just so you could admire my legs, did you?"_

_"No," he smirked again. Is that all he ever did? "but it's a great bonus, why waste the opportunity?" She blushed again, and for her sake, he changed the subject. "So," he started, a little nervous, which Elena found extremly cute and amusing. "I know you said you didn't want me to get you a birthday present..."_

_"Stefan!" She interrupted him._

_"Don't worry, I didn't pay for it." He added quickly, and she relaxed. "It's just- I know how much you loved this book and I thought maybe you'd like to keep it." He searched for a secong inside his backpack and pulled out a rusty, old book wrapped in a bow and handed it to Elena. "It's the original copy. It's been passed down through the family. It was my mother's and now it's yours." He gave her a big, warm smile as her eyes lit up from acknowledging what book it was._

_"You want me to have your mom's orignial copy of Wuthering Heights?" She asked surprised, lifting her look to him who still had his lips curved into that beautiful, breathtaking smile. "Stefan, I can't accept this..."_

_"Of course you can." He reasured her. "This book has a very special meaning to me, and so do you, so..." He smiled nervously. Did he just say she was special? Whoa God, is he really saying that? Special as in a best friends kind of way or something more than that?_

_Stefan and Elena had a different relationship since Stefan first transfered to her school. He used to go to a private school, one of those where those rich kids who think they own the entire world go to. She can not lie. When she first saw him, she thought he'd be just like them, just another futile, self-centered jackass. She had never been more wrong in her entire life, and a five minutes conversation with him before their first history class together made her realize that. Since then they got closer and closer, until they couldn't stay 24 hours away from each other. Elena wasn't used to it at first, because Stefan was always flirting with her and she didn't know how to react around him. Not that she didn't want him to flirt, she did. She loved it. But she just wasn't sure what he expected from her, or if he expected anything. With time she realized it was nothing, that she was reading into things. But he just said she was special didn't he? What did he mean?_

_"But my birthday isn't until next week." She said, finally._

_"I know, but i cound't wait to give it to you." He laughed, and his laugh made her laugh with him._

_"I loved it." She smiled and he reached out for her hand. His touch sent a wave of shivers through her entire body. She could only hope he hadn't noticed._

_"I knew you would." He squezed her hand in his and pulled her in for a hug. For a few seconds Elena let herself get lost in the feeling of his body so close to hers. Through the thin fabric of their shirts, Elena could feel his rock hard abs and strong chest, but right after she made those observations to herself, Stefan pulled away from the hug and she had to pretend her heart wasn't racing like crazy._

_"So," he started walking again and she followed him. "what are your plans for your big day?" He asked._

_"I thought we were catching a movie?" She told him, confused. Would he bail on her too? "Everyone else already have other plans, you can't ditch me too."_

_"I won't," he smiled "just wanted to make sure your plans haven't changed. I'll make it the best birthday of your life. I'll even let you have the large popcorn." he said, getting a laugh out of her._

Elena woke up with the sunlight already lighting up more than half of her room. She turned her back to the window and looked over to the shelf where she hid her diary. And there it was, the book he gave her that day. She got up, walked over to the shelf and openned it in the exact same page she openned everytime. _"If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger." _She read her favorite words over and over again. One day, the day she met Stefan, she was reading that book. She had borrowed it from the library and had just finished it. She looked for the page of this same quote for a while and when he got in the room she was reading it again and again, until the words got stuck in her head. It was first period and they were early and alone in history class. He sat in the table behind her and introduced himself. She only said her name and went back to the book, but he insisted on making conversation. Without anything else to say, he just asked what book was that, and when she raised the cover for him to read the name, he recited the words she'd been thinking about for the past five minutes. _"If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be" _he said, and she completed it. _"and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger." _Elena could perfectly remember what she felt in that moment. It sounds silly, but it was right then and there when she fest the connection between them. She didn't know why she was thinking about that right now. _It was just a dream, Elena. _She told herself. She hadn't had a dream about him for a while. She used to, though. All the time, and those times she'd wake up, walk to the shelf and read those words. It made her feel closer to him somehow.

"Keep thinking about him and you're gonna go mad." Elena said quietly to herself.

"Think about who?" She heard his voice coming from the door and quickly turned on her feet. He was leaning on the door frame with a serious expression on his face. His baby blue eyes never cared such seriousness, but she very well knew the reason behind it.

"Damon." She whispered his name and ran to him, giving him a tight hug. He hugged her back, gently running his hand along her hair.

"How are you doing?" He asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Did Jenna tell you?" Elena asked, pulling away from his embrace, walking to the other end of the room and sitting on her bed.

"She didn't need to. I was in California, not in a cave, Elena." He tried to hide it, but she knew he was angry. He had every right to be. "You didn't answer my question."

"I'm okay." She lied. "Better than expected, actually."

"Honey, you don't have to pretend to be okay. It's understadable, your parents..."

"I said I'm fine." She interrupted him. He sat beside her in her bed and they stood there quietly for a while. "Are you mad?" He raised an eyebrown at her and she added. "For not calling to tell you right away?"

"What do you think?" He asked without the usual smirk. "Why didn't you?"

"I don't know." She said truthfully. "I guess that maybe... you know, not having to tell anyone would make it less... real?" She lowered her head "I'm sorry, I should have called."

"Yes, you should. I could have been here for you, you wouldn't have to go through all of that alone."

"I wasn't alone." She tried to make the situation better, but there really wasn't a way to do so.

"I know you had Jenna, Ric, your brother, but you should have had your fiancè too." She nodded, not really sure what was going on. She couldn't tell if he was mad or upset, or just really trying, emphasis on trying, to comfort her.

"You're here now." She faked a smile a hugged him again.

"Did you just wake up?" Damon asked after their embrace.

"Yeah, I was just about to go down to grab something to eat."

"I have a better idea. Come on, get dressed, we're going out for breakfast." He smirke, letting her know that he wouldn't mourn her parents death for long. She didn't expect him to. It was just like him to make a joke and let it go. That might have been one of the reasons she didn't call. She couldn't let go.

"Damon, I don't... I'm fine, I can just-" She tried protesting.

"Your stomach is pratically talking to me, hurry, I'll be waiting downstairs." With that he left the room. She shook her head and went to her closet in search of something to wear.

xxxxx

"Wait a minute, you took her to a themed park?" Caroline asked, having another spoonful of her ice cream.

"Yes, I thought she could use some fun." Stefan answered, shoving his spoon on her ice cream bowl.

"Hey! That's mine!" Caroline protested and pulled the bowl closer to her.

"Why are you having ice cream for breakfast anyway?" Ignoring her protests, he shoved his spoon in the bowl again. "I thought you were on a diet."

"Crap! I forgot about that." Stefan chuckled. "This diet thing never works for me anyways." She added, looking at the now empty bowl and feeling guilty for ordering it in the first place. "But don't change the subject, Mr. Salvatore. When I saw you leaving with her after the funeral I thought you'd be doing, you know, something a little more interesting."

"Like what?" He raised an eyebrown at her and she rolled her eyes. "Elena happens to like themed parks, and I got her this big koala bear and all." He tried to sound nonchalant, but a smile crept over his lips at the memory.

"So you're trying to win her heart back!" Caroline giggled and Stefan shook his head.

"What did you expect us to be doing?" He asked again, curious to what his crazy friend had in mind.

"Having mind-blowing grief sex, obviously." She said seriously.

"You're incorrigible, aren't you?" Stefan saw Caroline's eyes widen at the sight of something. "What?"

"Damon and Elena are here." Caroline said quietly, and waited for Stefan's reaction. He looked over his shoulder and there they were, looking for a table and holding hands. Just the sight of them made Stefan sick. It brought back stuff he hoped he would be able to forget. "We can leave before they see we're here." Caroline suggested, looking for the waiter to bring them the bill.

"A little too late for that." Stefan said, moving his eyes back to Caroline. "You should go talk to them. See how Elena is doing."

"What about you?" She asked, concerned. She knew he wouldn't want to go there. That would be way to awkward, and Stefan wasn't ready to have that conversation with those two.

"I'm just gonna wait in the car." He gave her a fake smile, put the money on the table and headed out of the grill, eyeing Damon and Elena all the way out.

xxxxx

"What the hell is Stefan doing here?" Damon asked, shoked at the sight of his brother there, back in Mystic Falls. He was sitting in a table next to Caroline, looking over his shoulder at them.

"What?"

"When did this happen?!" Damon noticed Stefan standing up and making his way out of the grill. Soon after, he saw Caroline coming in their direction. Elena just kept quiet.

"Caroline, hey!" Elena greeted her friend with a smile that looked a lot more real than the one she had offered Damon earlier.

"Hey!" Caroline said, being her usual enthusiastic self and bringing Elena in for a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Elena lied. "Much better, thanks."

"Did anybody ever tell you you're a lousy liar?" Caroline said, cocking her head to the side, but keeping her expression warm and friendly as usual.

"I'm serious, Care. It's not like I'm happy or anything, but I'm okay, don't worry about me." Elena lied again, putting up a better performance this time. Caroline seemed to buy it, or at least she decided to drop it.

"You know what? We need a girls night. I'll call Bonnie and you, little miss, better not forget to bring the ice cream." Caroline said, overly excited, hoping her excitement would excite Elena too.

"Ice cream? I thought you were on a diet?" Elena said, knowing that Caroline wouldn't take no for an answer, so she should try to enjoy their night.

"Everybody needs to stop reminding me of that." Caroline said in an annoyed tone. "Be there. 6 o'clock." Care smiled at Elena one last time, sent her usual "I hate you" look to Damon, and she was gone.

Caroline steped out of the grill and looked around for Stefan. After spoting him next to his car in the parking lot she started walking in his direction.

"How is she?" He asked a little too anxious.

"She seems fine. We're having a sleepover tonight." She informed him. "You should go hang out with Matt and Tyler, you know. Elena is not the only one who could use a nice time."

"Nah," He shook his head, openning the door of his car and hopping in. Caroline did the same. "I should probably deal with Damon tonight. What time is Elena coming over to your place?"

"Around 6, why?"

"Don't want to risk going to talk to Damon and having to see her with him." He sighed.

"Hey," Caroline gave him a sympathetic smile. She would say she understands, but she really didn't, she knew that. Having to watch the love of your life with somebody else must be the one of the hardest things one could ever go through. Specially when that somebody else was your brother. "Are you sure you want to be here?"

"Where else would I be?" He asked her seriously. "I can't do much, but I can't go and leave Elena like this, not now. Doesn't matter if she says she's okay. She isn't, I know her." Caroline just stared at him for a while before it got awkward. "What?"

"How could she waste 3 years of her life with that disgusting, self-centered jackass when she had you right there?" It wasn't actually a question, and Stefan knew that. He smiled.

"Maybe you should ask her that." He turned the car on, and found his way out of the parking lot. "Come on, I'll drop you at Bonnie's."

xxxxx

After breakfast Damon took Elena home. She said that she'd spend the day with her family since she'd be with Caroline and Bonnie later. Her family needed her right now, and she would call him later. Damon didn't really know how to deal with the entire situation, so he let her be. It was all a lie, actually. Jeremy was out somewhere, and Ric insisted for Jenna to come over so they could spend the day together. She had told them she'd be with Damon when she left in the morning, so no one thought she would be alone. And that's exactly what she wanted them to think. She had a lot of thinking to do, and she desperately needed time on her own. She thought about going upstairs and taking a quick nap, but the fear of being haunted by Stefan in her dreams again stopped her. Stefan, Stefan, Stefan, was that all she thinked about? Maybe it was just because thinking about him stopped her from thinking about the fact that her parents were now dead. They were gone. Stefan had been gone once, too. And like her parents, she never thought she would ever see him again. But he came back. _Don't be ridiculous, Elena_. She thought. _Your parents died, Stefan moved to another state. _Stefan, Stefan, Stefan. She had Damon, why did she have to keep thinking about Stefan?

She went upstairs and took a shower insted. She let herself get lost under the hot water for about 20 minutes. She couldn't be less worried about wasting water now. She tried watching a movie too, but she kept going from channel to channel, not finding one single good movie. Tired of having nothing to do, Elena got her car keys and went out for a drive.

She pulled over and got out of the car when arriving at her destination. She used to go to that place all the time. Whenever she needed to think, or was sad, or just wanted to watch the sunset. It was for sure the most beautiful spot in the entire city. Stefan had brought her there at their first official date. It was the perfect spot. It was surrounded by trees and due to it's altitude, you could see the entire city from up there. She sat a the ground and stood there, looking at the sky. She couldn't tell how long she'd been there. An hour or something, she couldn't tell. She got her phone from her bag. Three new messages, one missed call from Jeremy, two from Jenna and seven from Damon. She ignored those and looked at the time. She was supposed to be at Caroline's in half an hour, but she wasn't planning of leaving any soon.

Another half hour must have passed and had turned her phone off, otherwise it would keep ringing every five minutes. She heard the noise of a car engine approaching and when she looked around to check it, she saw a red Porsche pulling over and parking behind her car. The driver got out of the car and walked in her direction.

"How did you find me?" She asked.

"I wasn't looking." Stefan answered simply. "What, are you hiding from someone?" When she didn't answer he knew exactly who she was hiding from. "Your fiancé, maybe?" He chucked to hide the fact that his voice had slightly shaken at the word fiancé. She didn't notice. He wasn't even sure she had heard him, because she kept quiet. "Hey," He tried again, sitting beside her. "how are you today?" His voice sounded concerned.

"Oh, are you talking to me?" She asked him and he lloked at her confused. "I thought you were ignoring me."

"Why would you think I'm ignoring you?" She shot him a deadly glare.

"Probably has something to do with the fact that apparently we can't even stay in the same establishment without you leaving right away." She said without looking at him. She was dead angry. First he was sweet and loving, and then totally indifferent. She didn't get him.

He chuckled nervously. "By the look on my brother's face he had no idea i was in town, meaning you didn't mention us spending the day together yesterday." She turned to face him. "I didn't think you would want him to find out we're, you know, talking to each other, otherwise you'd have told him." He had a point, Elena thought, but kept her angry expression.

"How did you know about my parent's accident?" She got straight to the point, annoyed by all the questions popping up in her head. The harshness in her voice told him this would be a lot less friendly conversation than the ones they had had the day before.

"Caroline called." He said truthfully. He had promised himself he wouldn't lie to her when she asked those things. He could delay some answers, though.

"And how did she get your number, exactly?" Stefan just stared at her with one eyebrown raised. The answer was a bit obvious. "Wait, you've been in touch with her," She sighed. "all this time?" She finished with her voice more silent. Her eyes full of shock. He nodded. "How could she not tell me?!" She said more to herself than to him, getting more and more angry.

"I asked her not to." Stefan interrupted her quickly, before she could be mad at Caroline too. She did anything but try to help him, he didn't want to get her in a bad place with her best friend. "I didn't want you to know..."

"Yeah, and why is that?" She snapped at him. "Huh? What did I do to you, Stefan?" Tears started filling her eyes and she had to blink several times not to let any of them fall. He was silent, his head down. He could look at her like that and do anything, and he didn't have the strength to do so yet. Because telling her would mean having to go through everything he went away hoping to avoid. She expected his answer for a few more moments, and when he didn't give her one, she asked him something else. If she didn't get the whole story she hoped to at least get some more answers. "How did you even know I was engaged to Damon?" She sighed again.

"There's this huge ring on your finger, it's kinda hard to miss." He answered, feeling uncomfortable with her persistence in the subject.

"You weren't even one bit surprised when I walked in with him on the grill today. The ring could have been anyone's. How did you know it was him?" He took a deep breath and a long moment before answering, Elena was growing impatient. "Did Caroline tell you that too?"

"No." He ran his hand through his hair. _God! _She missed doing that. "I... well," He took her hand in his and ran his thumb over the grass green rock on the ring. "This is my mother's ring." He said simply, letting go of her hand. She felt like someone had just punched her in the stomach. His mother's ring?

"Oh," She looked away from him, suddenly embarrassed, though she didn't know why. "I didn't know... Damon didn't say-"

"Maybe he thought it wasn't important." He said sadly and she felt bad for asking about it. "My father used to- you know what, forget it. You should get going. Caroline will be furious if you don't get her some ice cream."

"What about you father?" She asked as if she hadn't heard a word he had just said. When he attempted to say it was nothing, she insisted.

"One of the few memories I have of him was he telling me about that ring. He used to say that when he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with my mom, he bought her that ring and kept it, to propose in the right moment. There were countless wonderful rings at the jewelry store, some even more beautiful than this one, but he was captivated by this green rock. I don't think he even knew the name of the rock or anything. He just told me he fell in love with the ring just like he fell in love with her eyes. Her green grass eyes." He finished with a sad smile on his face.

"Your eyes." He nodded slowly, and she put her hand over his. Her look went from his eyes to the rock and they had the exact same shade of green.

"He said..." Stefan paused for a long moment.

"What did he say?" She asked in a gentle voice, almost like a whisper.

"That someday, when I loved someone as much as he loved my mother, I should give this ring to her, so she would hold a pice of me with her wherever she went." He smiled and took her hand in his again. "I have always wondered how it would look like on your finger." He said, so silently she could barely hear him. But she did. And it made her heart almost jump right out of her chest. Had he just flat out admitted he thought about asking her to marry him? She imagined how would her life be if he had, instead of Damon. "It looks beautiful." He added, a little less silently. She pulled her hand from his and looked away. They spent the following minutes in silence, and despite what he had just said, it wasn't an awkward silence at all, but Elena had to break it.

"You should take it." She pulled the ring from her finger without hesitating and handed it to him. "Your father wanted you to have this. Damon can get me a new one, I suppose."

"No." He shook his head. "She was his mother too. If he gave it to you, you should have it." He smiled again, just as sadly as before. "I have no one to give it to anyway." He chuckled, trying to pretend it was no big deal, but she knew it was. She slipped the ring back in her finger and sighed.

"I should probably go."

He nodded. "Tell Caroline I'm stopping by to cook her dinner tomorrow night for me, will you?"

Elena smiled at him one last time and nodded. When she got to her car, she turned around just to see him staring at her. "Hey, Stefan," she said. "any chance you would want to have dinner with me, instead?" She asked with her flirty tone, though she knew she shouldn't be using it.

Stefan thought about it for a moment before his lips curved in the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. "I would be honored to, Miss Gilbert."

**XXXXX**

**I would like to apologize for taking so long to update. I got caught up in some stuff and then my classes started and I had little time to write. I'll try updating more often from now on. Thank you so much for being so patient with me, haha.**

**So, hm, they're going to dinner. That might be interesting ;) Be sure to review and tell me what you think. xoxo**


	4. Chapter 4

Stefan went back home that night a little after nine o'clock. Exhausted from thinking too much, he only wanted to grab something to eat and go to bed. He went to the kitchen and pondered his options. He could cook something, make a sandwich or he could just grab a package of Oreos. Oreos it is. He went up to his room to find his brother laying on his bed, playing with something on his phone. When he saw Stefan come in, he moved to a sitting position.

"Little brother!" He said, with the usual smirk on his face. He hadn't changed a bit. "You know, it was a lot more fun to hang out in your room when you had all those journals for me to read."

"Well, I thought it's about time you understood the meaning of the word 'privacy', brother." Stefan walked over to his bed and settled the package down in the nightstand. Then he walked to his bags, still not unpacked and pulled out a a pair of sweats and boxers. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head.

"Spare me the show, little bro." Damon covered his eyes, mocking his brother.

"What do you want, Damon?" Stefan asked, already knowing the answer. If he wasn't so tired, he would actually want to have this talk with his brother and get it over with.

"I wanna catch up!" He answered excitedly.

"You wanna know why I'm here." Stefan stated.

"Yeah, that too." Damon said, a little more seriously, which was weird because Damon didn't do serious.

"I'm pretty tired, Damon, so if you don't mind..."

"Actually, I do mind." Damon said, even more seriously. "The sooner you answer me, the sooner you'll be able to rest, Steffy." Stefan hated when Damon called him that. It made him feel like his brother was making fun of him. And he was 99% of the times.

"You know," Stefan started, figuring Damon had a point. "I'm actually surprised you two hadn't figured it out yet."

"Figured what?" Damon asked, confused.

"Do the math, brother." Stefan told him. "I sure you considered this option at some point." He added. "If you haven't you're pretty stupid."

"Stefan, if there's something I'm not it's stupid." Damon said, sounding offended, which was also unlikely of him.

"Then you already know everything you need to." Stefan said simply. Annoyed by the possibility of having to talk about that subject for longer than he intended on. Damon seemed furious, but Stefan grabbed his change of clothes and walked into the bathroom, not giving his brother the chance to continue their conversation. He took much needed shower and when he came back out, Damon was nowhere to be found. Thanking God for his brother's lack of insistence, he put his Oreos aside, having lost his appetite, and fell on his bed, falling asleep instantly.

xxxxx

"Did you find anything?" Bonnie shouted from Caroline's kitchen.

"It depends." Elena said, coming in their direction with a pile of DVDs in her hands.

"Depends on what?" Bonnie asked.

"On whether or not you guys want me to completely lose it." Elena put the pile over the kitchen table and Bonnie started looking through it with her.

"I guess no Nicholas Sparks then." Bonnie said, setting aside Caroline's entire collection of Nicholas Sparks' movies.

"Seriously, the guy who invented the ice cream should win an award for his existence." Caroline said, taking a bite from the huge ice cream carton Elena bought in the way to her house and not paying the slightest bit attention to what the other girls were talking about.

"You ate half of the carton by yourself, isn't it enough?" Bonnie asked laughing, as she watched Caroline shove her spoon into the carton again.

"God, you sound just like Stefan!" Caroline said, not noticing that Elena got stiff just at the mention of his name. "He said I must have childhood trauma or something to explain my uncontrollable desire for this little piece of heaven." He look goes from Bonnie who has a disapproving expression, to Elena who is just awkwardly looking at the ground. "Oh my God, I'm sorry, Elena!"

"No, it's fine." She lies. "I guess this is better than pretending not to have any contact with him whatsoever, right?"

"Come on, I already apologized for that. He ask-"

"He asked you not to tell me, I know." Elena interrupted her, a little more harshly than she intended on.

"Did you tell him?" Bonnie asked quietly, afraid of Elena's reaction to the subject. "About your engagement, I mean."

"I didn't have to." Bonnie sent Caroline another one of her looks and Caroline threw her hands in the ir in protest.

"Don't look at me, I didn't say anything."

"No, I know. He recognized the ring. It was his mother's." Elena admired the rock on her finger for a moment, seeing nothing but Stefan's eyes in there now. "I asked him to have dinner with me tomorrow." She added quickly in one breath.

"You did?" Both Caroline and Bonnie asked at the same time.

"I can't live with not knowing why he left me forever. We'd have to cross that path sooner or later. I choose sooner."

"Just don't..." Caroline asked Elena quietly. "don't pressure him, okay?" It wasn't actually a question, it was a request. "If he's ready to talk about it, he will, if he's not, don't make him."

"If he's ready? Am I supposed to waint until he makes up his mind?" Elena, asks, annoyed that Caroline is taking his side on this.

"That's not what I'm saying." Caroline uses her calm tone, trying to calm Elena down.

"So what are you saying?"

"That he might have a very good reason to justify his actions." She raises her voice this time, starting to lose patience with her friend.

"Yeah, you would know." Elena says even more annoyed.

"Could you two stop, please? I thought we were supposed to have good time here." Bonnie interrupts them. Elena and Caroline mutter their "I'm sorry's" to one another, while Caroline goes back to her ice cream and Elena continues going through DVDs, trying to find something romance-free for her own sake.

xxxxx

The following day goes by pretty quickly, faster than Stefan wanted it to. He texted Elena after lunch to see if they were still up for dinner and she texted him back a few minutes later letting him know where and what time they should meet. He spent most of his day in his room, reading snd watching whatever interesting program he could find on tv. The house was mostly quiet, allowing him to hear his brother talking on the phone to someone he assumed to be Elena.

After many hours of boredom, Stefan started getting ready for his date. He laughed at himself. The last thing he could call that dinner was "a date" and he knew that. He finished getting ready and decided he would rather wait for Elena at the restaurant than wait a little more at home before leaving. He checked the address she sent him again, making sure he didn't go to the wrong place. He didn't need to though, since they had been to that restaurant a thousand times before. He wondered why she didn't ask to meet him t the grill. Probably so no one would see them together. After he got to the place he waited for about half an hour before spotting her car entering the parking lot.

"You look beautiful." He complimented her after she made her way to him at the entrance of the establishment. She thanked him shily and they made their way in, sitting at the table designated to them next to a window. The waitress stopped to see if they wanted something to drink and Stefan ordered the house's best red wine for them both. He didn't even have to ask what she wanted, that one was her favorite. They looked at their menus quietly, and Elena found it a bit odd that he hadn't said a word to her after his compliment. He would usually try and make conversation, but tonight he didn't even ask her if she was okay. The waiter came back with their drinks and took their order. Stefan kept looking around the place, not letting his look fall on her.

"Stefan, is everything okay?" She asked a bit annoyed.

"Sure, why wouldn't it be?" He said completly nonchalantly.

"You haven't said a word to me."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was just wondering when you would stop pretending this was about having dinner and not about getting the answers you want." He went straight to the point, not wanting to make the night longer than it had to be.

"How come you're the one who's mad at me?" She said, dropping the act too, even though she secretly hoped she would be able to keep it up a little longer for old times' sake.

"I'm not. I just want you to ask whatever you want so we can get this over with."

"You make it sound so simple."

"There's nothing simple about it, Elena." He tells her truthfully. "But the sooner this ends, the sooner I get to stop thinking about it." Elena looks into his eyes, and she can see the pain present in them, like he is relieving a bad experience or something like that. She takes a deep breath and asks the thing she truly couldn't stop thinking about since he didn't come back from his trip to Italy that summer.

"Did you love me?" She says finally, and her question takes Stefan by surprise. He didn't expect it to come first, or at all. "Did you?" She asked again, tears starting to fill her eyes. He hated to see her like that, but there really wasn't anything he could do to stop it.

"More than anything in the world." He smiled at her, but she could see the sadness behind it.

"Then why did you leave me?" Tears were now rolling down her checks, and she let them. "We went to the airport to pick you up but you weren't there! Do you have any idea how worried we were about you? We had to hear from your uncle that you were safe and with him in New York. That you were spending some time there and that you didn't know when you were coming back." Tears kept rolling down her checks and Stefan reached for her face, wiping her tears with his thumb. "How hard was it to make a phone call, Stefan?!"

"I know I'm jerk for not talking to you personally. For not calling, for... I was just so mad at you that I didn't think that I could possibly be hurting you. I'm sorry." When his anger started to desappear, months after, Stefan wanted to slap himself for doing things the way he did. He was angry, yes, but mostly he was hurt. At the time, talking to her, confronting her about it would have hurt him even more, so he decided not to, and by doing that, he ended up hurting her too.

"And why is it that you were so mad at me huh?" Elena raises her voice. A few seconds the waitress comes back with their food, and after she leaves, Elena just stares expectantly at Stefan.

"Because," He takes a deep breath. "because I came home early from my trip. I missed you so bad that I wasn't even enjoying Italy anymore. So I came back. I came back and I went straight to your house. There wasn't anyone home, so went to the boarding house to take a shower and rest before going back to your place to wait for you and surprise you, and when I got there..." He made a pause, and Elena felt like she was gonna be sick. "I saw you with him. On the couch."

Elena covered her mouth with her hands in surprise, preventing herself from screaming. She felt like all the air was being sucked out of her lungs. "Stefan..." She said his name in a pleading tone. All this time wondering why was he gone... She didn't stop to think for a moment he could have seen that. He was supposed to be in Italy. Not that she had planned any of that. That summer Stefan asked her to come to Italy with him, just the two of them, and there was nothing in the entire world she would have wanted more. But her brother was going through rough fase and she seemed to be the only one who was able to get through to him. Stefan said there was no rush, they could wait and go when she didn't have so much to worry about, but she insisted for him to go without her. She couldn't ruin his summer because of her problems. He didn't want to at first, but she insisted for him to go and have a good time, for her, so he did. They would talk every night, but she missed him a lot. More than she ever expected to. After a couple of weeks she was starting to feel lonely, so she would go to his place and lay in his bed, just to feel him closer to her. Feel his scent, feel him there beside her. Most of those times Damon was home and would keep her company. They would talk and talk for hours, and they started getting closer very fast. One day on the fourth week Stefan was away, she came by the house. Damon was drinking and offered her some. They started talking and laughing and after the alcohol kicked in, he kissed her. It was soft and slow at first, but after no objection came from her part, their make out session grew more heated, leading to some other things. Elena didn't know what part of it all Stefan witnessed, but had no desire to know either. "I missed you too. And I was lonely, and Damon was there... there ws some alcohol, and it just happened." She lowered her head, ashamed to look inside his eyes.

"You could have asked me to come back and I would in a heartbeat. There was no need for you to have sex with my brother."

"And ruin your trip? It wouldn't be fair to you."

"And cheating on me was?" He asked surprised she would say such thing.

"I regreted that for so long..."

"Not so much, apparently, since you agreed to marry him." Stefan interrupted her.

"I'm so sorry, Stefan, I am! But my engagement has nothing to do with that night. Damon and I only started going out long after you didn't come home."

"Elena, can I ask you something?" Stefan said, after a long moment of silence. She nodded. "You asked me if I loved you. Did _you_ love me?" Elena wished she could avoid his look, but his deep grass green eyes where staring right into hers and she didn't feel like she could break their gaze. Could she tell him she loved him after what she did to him? She did. She loved him, very much.

"I loved you, Stefan." She paused for a second. Stefan didn't seem convinced, but he didn't say anything. He asked her. He wanted the truth, and he was going to give her the chance to tell him all of it. "But I don't think I knew what love is back then." She added, quietly.

"And now?" He asked, seeing she had nothing more to say. "Do you know what love is?"

"I'm not sure." She answered truthfully.

"And you're getting married anyway?" Stefan asked, surprised with her answer. "What happened to the hopeless romantic who forced me to watch movies about soulmates, fate, eternal love? Where did she go?"

"I didn't force you. You enjoyed those." She avoided his question. Truth to be told, she didn't know either. She used to dream about those things once upon a time. But at some point, they didn't matter as much anymore. It's like she stopped being the same person.

"I miss that girl. She was pretty amazing." Leaving his food untouched, Stefan put some money on the table and left without another word. Elena stood there, not touching her food either. The night had gone in a completely different way than she expected it to. She actually thought she would yell at him a bit for being a jerk, after having a nice meal in her favorite restaurant. But there she was. Alone, with no appetite and feeling pretty bad for being so stupid and hurting Stefan like that.

**XXXXX**

**I know this update was kind of short, but I wanted to end it like this. Now that Elena knows the truth, I'm interested in how they are all going to deal with all this. And will Elena be able to bring back the girl she once was or is she lost for good? **

**As usual, don't forget to review and let me know what you think. Also, tell me what you would like to see happen, I could use some ideas (: xoxo**


	5. Chapter 5

"Look at you all sweaty. Went for a run?" Stefan heard Damon ask from the couch as he closed the front door of the boarding house. Stefan rolled his eyes at his brother and headed to his room. He was half way up the stairs when his brother spoke again. "I just got off the phone with Elena." He said quietly.

Stefan chuckled and turned around to face his brother. "And?"

"And she told me that you two talked last night." He said, very seriously. "She told me everything."

"Then you're well aware of the fact that if I spend another minute here talking to you there's a very high probability that I'll punch you in the face." Stefan said calmly, going down the stairs and crossing his arms.

"Oh, come on, Stefan! That was years ago, I'm sure you're over it. Now, sit, have a drink, let's bond." He finished his sentence with the usual smirk on his face and it made Stefan want to punch him even more.

"You're my brother and you slept with my girlfriend, I'm sure as hell not over it." Stefan said, angrily. "Why are you even drinking? Shouldn't you be, I don't know, working?"

"And shouldn't you be in college?" Damon asked, refilling his glass.

"Summer break." Stefan made his way to the kitchen walking past Damon but he grabbed his arm. "What?"

"I'm sorry, Stefan." Damon said, not looking into his brother's eyes.

"No, you're not." Stefan freed himself from his brother's grip. "You knew how much Elena meant to me." He added quietly. "And for what? To spite Katherine?"

"Don't bring Katherine into this!" Damon warned him, raising his voice.

"She's already is part of it." Stefan argued. "You loved her and she hurt you, I get it. You tried to get back at her and guess what?" Stefan stated at his brother seriously. Damon looked angry, furious with his brother for bringing that possibility up. "You ended up hurting me instead."

Stefan made his way to the kitchen, getting a bottle of water from the refrigerator and drinking it all at once. He set the bottle down and brought his hands to his face, rubbing his eyes. He stood there in the kitchen for some minutes, hoping that Damon was too upset at him to continue arguing. He wasn't so lucky though. Damon was pouring himself another drink by the time Stefan came back to the living room, and Stefan wondered how many drinks had he had already. It was too early in the morning for him to be drinking this much. There was a time that was all he ever did, specially when Katherine and him couldn't find a way to make it work anymore. He would go to the grill and sit by himself at the bar, drinking throughout the night, just to get home in the morning looking like hell and sleeping half the day. After Katherine totally shattered his heart, he stopped going out and drank in his bedroom, not going through the trouble of getting downstairs except to eat occasionally.

Stefan still remembers the day it happened. It was something short of a week before his trip to Italy. He could picture it perfectly.

_"Stefan, hurry, I'm soaking wet!" Elena yelled, trying to make herself heard despite the pouring rain, while Stefan searched his pockets for his keys. After finally finding them, he openned the back door of the boarding house and they both ran inside. _

_"Don't you look all sexy in this wet dress." He bit his lower lip, after closing the door behind him. He walked up to her and pulled her in for a surprisingly passionate kiss. He wrapped his hands around her waist and she threw her arms around his neck, playing with the ends of his hair. He lowered his hands from her waist to her hips, then to her ass and under her dress. She pulled away from his just a little, laughing as she tried, but failed miserably, to get his hands away from there._

_"Stefan!" She called his name, still laughing. "Not here! Someone could walk in on us." She managed to get out between laughs and sweet pecks he tried to plant on her lips to shut her up._

_"Let them." He whispered in her ear, nibling at her earlobe and kissing down her neck. He kept alterning between kissing and nibling and sucking at her neck, and she moaned quietly in pleasure. He knew just the right spots to kiss her, damn it! _

_"Stefan," she called his name again and he groanned against her skin. "If you wanna finish this you better get me to your bedroom." Before she could even finish her sentence he was already lifting her up and going towards the living room. She wrapped her legs around him to help keep her in place as they continued kissing all the way to the bottom of the stairs. From there, Steafn could hear his brother upstairs, screaming at someone. Hell, he sounded angry! Angrier than Stefan ever remembered seeing his brother. Elena unwrapped her legs from him and he put her back on the ground, worried something serious was going on upstairs. He was about to call his brother's name and go upstairs to check on him, but he didn't need to._

_"You don't get to tell me what to do, Damon!" They heard Katherine yell from the second floor. They were fighting again. Elena and Stefan listened closely, not being able to help themselves. "You don't own me!"_

_"No, I don't, but if you continue like this we'll never be able to make this work!"_

_"Then we won't work!" She yelled with a little less emotion than Stefan wished she would, for his brother's sake. _

_Elena almost jumped when something hard came crashing into a wall, and by the noise they could tell it was something big. Stefan wondered for how long would that fight last. Damon and him weren't as close as they once were anymore, but he was still his brother and he loved him very much. Damon had been completely in love with Katherine since they met before high school. Since then they had been an on and off thing. They both were too stubborn and proud to ever admit being wrong, so they hardly ever apologized to each other, making their relationship a lot harder. Damon was whipped. He did everything Katherine wanted to. Most of the time, at least. And that seemed not to be enough for her. Stefan also knew she cared about him too. A lot. She told him as much. Damon was not around to hear it, and Katherine made him promise not to tell his brother. She was a good person, but things were never really easy for her at home. Her dad wasn't one of the best people around and her mother died when she was very young. She didn't have siblings or any other family, only her and her dad. She had to learn to be independent very early too. __But the thing with Katherine is she's ambitious. She likes to be on top and nothing less._ She couldn't and didn't want to count on her dad. It was a form of self preservation, to be on top, like nothing could hurt her there.

_"Katherine, please, don't do this." Damon wasn't screaming anymore. His voice was desperate, begging her, almost. "Don't do this."_

_"I'm going, like it or not." Katherine said, louder than he did, but also lowering her tone. "And you know what, I might even take Elijah up on that offer."_

_Damon was speachless for a while. Elena told Stefan to do upstairs to check on them, see if there's something he could do, but it would only make things worse for them. "Aren't I enough for you?" His voice sounded hopless now. He hated that his brother was hurting so much. He couldn't even imagine how he felt. He pulled Elena close to him. "I do everything for you! Whatever you want whenever you want, isn't that enough?" His voice sounded angry again._

_Katherine chuckled. "Maybe that's the problem. Did you ever think about that?" Stefan heard footsteps and then his brother calling her name again. "I leave next month."_

Stefan sighed at the memory. Damon was miserable. Just like Stefan was after he found out about the night HE and Elena spent together.

"I'm going to marry her, Stefan. I love her." Damon said, after a while.

"I know you do." Stefan's answer took Damon by surprise. "But you're not in love with her, are you?" Damon didn't answer, but he didn't need to. Stefan knew. Damon was desperately in love with Katherine once, he wouldn't love anyone as he loved her.

Stefan left Damon in the living room and headed upstairs to take a much needed shower after his run. Damon was too buzzed to want to stop him or come after him. He stepped under the cold water to let it wash all of his problems away for a moment or two.

xxxxx

Elena had been debating with herself whether or not to go talk to him for a couple of days now. She wasn't sure he would want to see her, but he did come all the way from New York to support her, didn't he? Elena chuckled at herself. She sounded like a stupid teenager with boy problems. Just go and talk to him, she told herself. She knocked at the boarding house door but no one answered. She knew Damon was at a meeting at the Salvatore company and Stefan should be upstairs, too far to hear her knock. She let herself in and closed the door behind her. She went upstairs in search for him. She got closer to his room and could hear him talking to someone, but no one else's voice. She got closer, spotting him in the corner of his room with his back turned to her a lost her breath. Water was dripping from his perfectly messy hair to his back, followed his spine line and landing at the towel wrapped around his hips. Damn! He was hotter than ever. She watched the muscles of his back while he was on the phone, completely unaware of her presence.

"Nik, why would you want to come here?" Stefan asked laughing. "You live in New York, there is a lot to do with or without me around." Elena heard him say, still studying his ridiculously hot back. Stefan stated walking around his room, listening to whoever was at the other end of the phone. He turned around and saw her standing by the doorframe. He furrowed his browns. "I'm gonna have to call you back." He said hanging up the phone. "Hey!"

"Um, hey." She put a strand of hair behind her ear, while looking at his torso. She couldn't help herself. Part of her hated that his towel was wrapped so low on his hips, but the other part was greatful for the sight of the beginning of that sexy V.

They stayed in an awkward silence, and it seemed to amuse Stefan because he was grinning. "Do you want to take a picture?"

"What," She said quickly. Breaking out of her trans.

"You're staring." He laughed at her. _Oh my God! __Stop, Elena, say something!,_ she thought.

"No, I'm... Um..." She openned her mouth, but she didn't find any words. He was very distracting. "I just," She stopped again and he raised an eyebrown at her. Elena laughed nervously and Stefan laughed along with her. They were two silly teenagers laughing at each other.

"Damon's not home." Stefan said, figuring he had teased her enough, seeing the blush in her cheeks.

"I know," She said. "I'm here to talk to you."

"Oh," He said, surprised. "Okay."

"I just... I wanted to apologize to you. Again." She said, shyly.

"Elena, you don't have to. You already said you're sorry and-"

"No, I do. I do, because you're an amazing guy and you didn't deserve that." Though Stefan assured her she didn't have to say anything, he had to admit that it was nice hearinh that. He thanked her silently, and she continued. "Can I ask you something?" He nodded. "Why aren't you mad at me? I mean, despite that part where you left me alone in that restaurant," she joked, hoping to lighten the situation and managing to get a smile out of him. "you have been nothing but nice to me."

"I was mad for a long time." He told her honestly. "But it was done, there was nothing I could do about it, so I just tried as hard as I could to forget it." He added. "After a while it got easier."

"You're a good man, Stefan." She told him with and small smile. Silence fell upon them and just as Elena was ready to turn around and leave she changed her mind. "Can we…"

"Be friends?" He interrupted her and she nodded. "I like the sound of that." His lips curved in that breathtaking smile of his and Elena swore her heart melted. She smiled back at him. "Who is the rose from?" He asked her, completely changing the subject and suprising Elena for making conversation. He just now noticed a couple of red roses sticking out of bag.

"Not from, for."

Realization hit him and he knew those were for her parents. "You're going to visit them?" It wasn't really a question.

"Yeah," She nodded.

"Do you want me to come with you?" He offered with a warm smile.

"No, it's okay," She smiled back at him, but her smile was sad and fake. "I can do this alone."

"Of courseyou can." He assured her with no hesitation. He knew she was strong enough and could do this on her own, but that was not his point. "It doesn't mean you have to."

Elena stared at him for a moment before a small smiled formed on her lips. "I'd like that."

"I'm gonna dress up real quick and meet you downstairs, then." She nodded and took one last glance at his hard rock abs before turning around and going down to let him get dressed.

She couldn't believe how amazing he was.

She had called Damon that morning to see if he could come with her for support, but when she asked him what was he up to, he told her he had an important meeting, so she didn't even bring it up and convinced herself she could do this alone.

When Stefan got down, fully dressed, they took Elena's car and headed for the cemetery. They made small talk along the way, talking about everything and nothing, and Elena was glad for it too. When they got there, Elena's eyes started to tear up, even before they got to the Gilbert's grave. Stefan held her hand but didn't say anything. He didn't try to stop her from crying or tried to get her to compose herself. He just simply held her hand, and that was more than her crying became so desperate that he pulled her in his arms and she sobbed with her face burried in his shirt. They stayed there for about half an hour. When Elena finally stopped crying in his arms and composed herself, she told him that she wanted to go. He offered to take her home, but she said she was starving and asked him to have lunch at the grill with her. He accepted her offer, happy to be able to spend a little more time with her.

The drive to the grill was a lot lighter. He felt like she was holding all that pain inside of her, and through her tears she left it all out at once. She seemed happier. No, actually, happier is not the right word. She seemed freer.

"So, tell me about New York." She suggested excted, after they got to the grill, sitting in a booth in the back.

"What do you want to know?" He asked, looking at the menu and trying to choose his meal.

"Um, your house, your friends, girlfriend, college, everything!" Her excitement reminded him of the happy, silly girl she was when they met.

"Wow, you sound like Caroline." They laughed. "Um, okay. I bought a penthouse on the Upper West Side."

"Uh, panthouse, that sounds fancy." She interrupted him. He laughed.

"Caroline says I should have bought one on the Upper East Side, but honestly I just think she watches too much Gossip Girl."

"She's been visiting you?" She asked, trying to hide her envy.

"Not as much as I wanted her to, but you know her schedule. On summer she comes over for longer, though." Well, that explains Caroline travelling so much for the past years. Elena was surprised she didn't make the connection earlier.

"You two are pretty close now, arean't you?" It wasn't really a question.

"Yeah, we are." He confirmed with a smile on his face that made her smile as well. She felt bad for being jaelous of Caroline just because she had been part of his life all this time and she haven't. "She's my best friend." Elena smiled widely. He was lucky to have Caroline in his life. "Let's see... house, oh, right, friends." He remembered her questions and kept answering them. "There's my best friend Nik, and his sister, Rebekah. I'm friendly with some people at college but I don't consider any of them my friends." That sounded reather lonely to Elena, but she chose not to comment on it. Instead she nodded, encouraging him to continue. "College's fine I guess. I have great teachers, and there's only one more year to go." I was nice, talking to her about everything. He missed it badly.

"I'm sure you'll do an amazing journalist." She assured him and he gave her a questioning look. "Zach told us." She clarified. Zach gave Damon news about Stefan every once in a while, like what college he's going to, or which courses he's taking. Damon was his brother after all and a huge part of his life, whether or not Stefan wants him to be.

"Oh?" Stefan pretended to be surprised. "So my uncle has been giving confidential information to you about my whereabouts? I think I might need to have a little chat with him about that." They both laughed. A while ago Stefan would have been mad about this, but he knows his uncle is just looking out for him and Damon like he always has. "So I guess that's it."

"Aren't you forgetting something, Mr Salvatore?" Elana asked playfully, trying to mask her eagerness find the answer she cared about the most. Stefan cocked his head to one side and Elena clarified again. "Girlfried?"

He lowered his head and a shy smile formed in the corner of his lips. "No girlfriend." He said finally.

"Why not?" She asked, trying to find if there really wasn't anyone in the picture or if he just didn't feel like talking to her abou it.

"Haven't met anyone who interests me, I guess."

"Stefan, you live in New York. Interesting girls mustn't be a problem there." He chuckled.

"There might have been a girl." He started, smiling broadly at the memory of the girl.

"What was she like?" She asked curious.

"She's smart and funny and a little mean sometimes, but I enjoy that about her, actually." He told her honestly. She was all of those things. "And she's freaking good looking to be honest." He added chuckling. He didn't know why he told her that last part, but he said it anyways.

"And why didn't it work?" She asked, secretly hoping for an answer she would most likely not hear. It was selfish, she knew, wanting him to say and think those things when she didn't alow herself to do the same. She was engaged and it wouldn't be fair to her or Damon, but she couldn't help herself. It isn't fair to Stefan either, but as long as she kept those thoughts to herself, hid them, burried them, it would do no harm. At least she thought so.

"I don't know, honestly." He told her, though it was not the truth.

"Didn't you love her?"

"I did." He told her, truthfully this time. Elena hid her disappointment. "Just not that way. More like a sister, that's all."

"So you broke up with her?" He nodded and she smiled, unaware of what she was doing.

"Why are you smiling?" He asked, grinning.

"Me?" She said, buying her some time to come up with something. He just kept grinning. "I just happy we're doing this. I've missed you." She smiled wider and put her hand over his.

He looked from their hands to her face. She had the prettiest smile he had ever seen. They say love is a big complication. That it's abstract and invisible. That it's about finding who you are and who you want to be. Or better yet, who you want to be with that special someone. It's wild and foolish. But even though it might be all of those things, people always forget about the simple things. Love's about the smallest details. About letting someone warm your heart with the smallest of smiles, or making a special night just by cooking a romantic dinner for two. It's about waking someone up with a light peck on the lips every morning. That's what love is about to Stefan. It's about the small things. Like her smile, her contagious laugh and the spark in her eyes. He loved her from the moment he first saw her reading in history class. He loves her. He loves her with his whole being. "I've missed you too."

They talked for hours. He told her about his plans for the future, and she told him about her days without him these years. About her decisions and hopes for the future as well. They just talked, and kept talking. And in the whole world there wasn't a place where Stefan would be rather than there, with her. He missed her, and this day made him realize he that as much as he wanted to think otherwise, he needed her in his life. He wanted her there. Forever.

And she felt the same.

**XXXXX**

**So, we're slowly learning a bit more about everybody's history. Any thoughts on Katherine? I've been debating whether or not I'd bring her into the story but I just love writing her scenes, so I couldn't help myself. Oh, and yes, I am bringing other pairings into this story, I'm just waiting for the right moment. And I love writing flashbacks, so I just might add some chapters only with flashbacks, what do you guys think? I think you guys might like what I have for you. **

**One last thing, I apologize for this chapter, I'm not sure it was my best work, but I wanted to post it already and not make you guys wait any longer. **

**As always, review and let me know what you think. xoxo**


	6. Chapter 6

"Caroline, put that vase down!" Stefan tried his best not to laugh at his friend but was failing miserably while he held his arms in front of his face in an attempt to protect himself in case she did throw that vase at him.

"I can't believe you invited _him_!" Caroline yelled, putting the vase down with so much strenth that she was lucky it didn't shatter. Stefan broke down laughing, not being able to help himself. "Stefan!" Caroline kept yelling, trying to hold her laughter as well. The situation was not one to laugh about, but she haven't seen Stefan so happy and carefree like this in a long while.

"Sorry," he forced himself to stop laughing. "sorry." He said again with a grin.

"What are you grinning about? The is serious. He can't be here!" She said, confidently.

"Don't be mad at me, he was the one who invited himself." He told her.

"It's your house, you can tell him no." She tried again, hell bent on making Stefan tell his best friend he couldn't come for a visit. "Please?" She tried using her puppy eyes but they didn't seem to have much effect on him.

"Too late, they're already on their way."

"They?" She had a confused expression on her face. "Who's he coming with?" She asked annoyed.

"Careful, Care, your jaelousy is showing." He teased her.

"I'm not jaelous!" She protested. "I'm... UGH!" She exclaimed frustrated.

"Come on, be happy about this, Bekah said she misses you."

"Rebekah?" Her eyes lit up and she smiled. "I haven't seen her in months." She told him. "Wasn't she supposed to be in London?" She asked.

"Yup," he confirmed. "When Nik said he'd be coming I called Bekah and she was more than excited to come home early from her trip."

"What time are you picking them up on the airport?"

"Um," he checked his clock. "in about an hour or so."

"Already?" She looked at her hands, analyzing her nail beds and realized she needed to have them done before Bonnie and Elena came pick her up. "You should go before I change my mind and strangle you and your little friend with my bare hands." He laughed, walked over to her, planting a light kiss on her head and left her house to the airport, figuring he could have a coffee on the way to kill some time.

xxxxx

"No," Damon reached out for her arm, pulling her back in bed with him. "Stay."

"I can't." Elena laughed. "I promised Bonnie I'd go shopping with her." She told him. "Jeremy is taking her to dinner tonight to celebrate their anniversary."

"Let Caroline take care of that, I need you here."

Elena freed herself from his arms, and got up. "Go home, Damon." She chuckled "Stefan can make you company while I'm gone."

"I'd rather be on my own, thanks." He said, getting up from the bed as well.

"Are you two still at each other's throats?" She asked.

"I don't think we'll ever not be at each other's throats." Damon confessed with a sigh.

"Maybe if you apologized to him..." Elena trailed off but he interrupted her.

"I already did!" He said, frustrated. "He won't listen."

"You could try being nice to him for a change." She said, slightly annoyed. It had always bothered her how the were always fighting, even before this whole thing. She knew Damon wasn't the affectional brother, even though she well aware of the fact that he loved Stefan very much. More than he would consider admiting to himself. She also knew, for what Stefan had told her, that they were once very close, but as his brother got older he started shutting Stefan out. Stefan was still little to understand, about 11, maybe 12, so it probably didn't it occur to him back then, and even though Damon never openly said anything to her, she had an idea of why he acted like that.

It wasn't that hard to imagine, actually. As soon as Stefan got old enough for his uncle to start comparing his accomplishments, not only in school, but in his life in general, to his brother's, Damon started feeling like he was worse than Stefan. Elena met their uncle Zach and had the unfortunate opportunity to witness his complete lack of tact towards either brother. It wasn't hard to picture him being hard on Damon. Probably too hard. It didn't happen in front of Stefan, though. He used to worship his older brother and would stand up to his uncle for him, even if there really wasn't nothing he could do. And since Stefan had always described their troubled relationship using the words "for no apparent reason," Damon was too proud to ever say anything to his little brother. So he acted on it. If his uncle would say he's bad at something, he try hard to be worse. Some would say it was out of spite, but to Elena he was just afraid of trying harder and never being enough. If he didn't try at all, he would fail with a reason. Not because he wasn't good enough. With time he probably started believing he actually wasn't good enough. "Maybe that could work." She added.

"Nice isn't really our thing." He said.

"Then make it your thing." She told him. "We hurt him bad, Damon. It's the least you can do."

Damon seemed to think it over for a moment before shrugging it off. "Whatever." He finally said. "When you and the girls are done maybe you could call me and we can spend the rest of the day together." He suggested, putting his arms around her from behind. "If you know what I mean." He added with a smirk.

Truth is, they haven't slept together in over two weeks, and Damon was starting to grow impatient. He respected her, of course. She lost her parents recently and if he sensed she wasn't in the mood for it he wouldn't push it, not even suggest it. Elena appreciated that, even if she knew he didn't really understand her. Sex was a problem fixer for Damon, it had always been. It used to bug the hell out of Elena. She didn't want to be in a relationship with someone who only wanted sex. But she ended up learning how to deal with him in the best way possible with time.

This time, though, she didn't need to deal with it. Having sex with her fiancé, what's the problem with that? Something was holding her back, and she was starting to get a feeling it wasn't only about the death of her parents. She could have a good idea of what it could be, but she wouldn't dare to admit it to herself.

"Sure." She forced a smile. "Now, I'm late."

"I'll see you later." He smirked before kissing the top of her head and going out her bedroom's door with his shoes on one hand and his walet and keys on the other.

Elena sighed, turning around and walking to her closet in search of something to wear.

xxxxx

Stefan had been waiting for about 20 minutes before he felt a pair of hands block his eyes coming from behind him. "Guess who?" He heard a strong British accent.

"Bekah!" She moved her hands from his face, allowing him to turn around and pull her in for a tight hug. A few steps behind her, a male figure was struggling with a little more luggage than necessary. After letting go of Rebekah, Stefan greeted his friend with a quick hug. "I would offer to help with the bags but you're handling them so well that I'll let you do your thing." Stefan said, laughing at his friend.

"Lovely to see you too, mate." Nik said, annoyed with his friend's mocking. "Rebekah, love, remind me again, why am I carring your luggage?" Nik asked, making a huge effort not to drop anything.

"Because," she smirked at Stefan. "you, my brother, are trying to learn to be a gentleman for Caroline."

"Is that so?" Stefan said, while he watched Nik eye Rebekah, furious. "I think that," Stefan turned to Nik. "In your situation, you're gonna need to do a lot more than carrying some bags."

"Did she say anything about me coming?" Nik asked.

"Yup," Stefan answered, nodding his head. "She said I couldn't let you come right after she tried to shatter an expensive vase against my face." Rebekah chuckled and Nik sent her a deadly glare.

"Can we stop with the chitchat and go have brealfast please?" Rebekah asked. "I'm starving!"

"When are you not?" Stefan mocked her, cocking his head to the side.

"Funny." Rebekah rolled her eyes in annoyance before sticking her tongue out in his direction.

Stefan laughed, then grabbed a couple of bags Nik was struggling to keep on his back. "Come on." He said, starting to walk with Rebekah by his side and leaving Nik, who was still doing most of the heavy lifting, to walk behind them. "Maybe we can teach Nik a thing or two before meeting with Caroline later today."

"Oh, I doubt that." Rebekan said, laughing with Stefan while Nik furiously slamed his feet on the ground step after step, what made them laugh even more.

xxxxx

"What do you think about the blue?" Elena asked her friends, grabbind one of the dresses from the clothing rack and putting it in front of Bonnie's body to get an idea of how it would look on her.

"Um," Bonnie thinked for a moment. "I don't know. Care, what do you think?" Bonnie asked, but Caroline didn't answer. She kept staring at the dress, but it was almost like she couldn't see it. She was just blankly staring. "Caroline!" Bonnie called her name a little louder, breaking Caroline out of her trams.

"Yeah, sure, it looks great!"

"You're not even playing attention." Bonnie accused her.

"Yes, I am." Caroline protested. "You should try them on." She said, moving around and going to look for something in the clothing rack. "Here, take this one too." She said, as she handed Bonnie a cream dress with the back openned and reaching just above her knees. Bonnie took the dress from her hands, not annoyed with her friend for not paying attention anymore. The dress was too pretty.

"I'll be right back." She said, going in the direction of the fitting room.

"Is everything okay?" Elena asked Caroline after Bonnie left. "You seem kind of zoned out today."

"No, it's nothing, I'm fine." The enthusiastic friend said, with a little less enthusiasm than usual.

"I know you, Care." Elena said. "When you get all thinkative like that it means you're having trouble with some guy." Elena smirked, making Caroline realize that all that time her friend was spending with Damon made her start resembling him. Her smirk - it was not Elena-like at all. "Spit it out!"

Caroline was about to say it was nothing, but Elena eyed her closely and she knew there was no use in hidding it. Maybe a friend's advice could help her somehow. "Okay, fine." She gave in. "Nik's coming to Mystic Falls and he's the most self-absorbed, annoying asshole you'll ever meet and Stefan is making us go to dinner tonight because he says he need time with his best friends but I can't stand the guy!" Caroline said everything in one breath, surprising her friend at first, then making her laugh.

"Take a breath, Caroline." Elena laughed. Caroline chuckled as well. "Is he hot?" Elena asked.

"That's beyond the point."

"I think that's exactly the point." Elena said, grinning. "Sounds like you're attracted to him."

Caroline's eyes widened. "I'm not attracted to him!" She exclamed frustrated. "He's repulsive!"

Elena laughed out loud as Bonnie got out of the fitting room in the blue strapless dress she had chosen. "What do you think?" Bonnie asked, spinning on her toes for the girls to have a better look.

"Definitely not." Caroline said harshly, taking her sudden annoyance at her friend out on Bonnie. "Try the one I chose."

"Uh, oh! Someone's in a bad mood." Bonnie pointed out, turning around to go and try the other dress on. She would stay and ask Caroline what's up, but they had been searching for the perfect dress for the past 3 hours and, to be honest, she was starting to get a little desperate.

"What does Stefan have to say about it?" Elena asked, after Bonnie left.

"Nothing, he just takes pleasure in seeing me struggle with the mere possibility of an hour in Nik's presence." Caroline sighed.

"Then don't show up." Elena suggested. "I'm sure Stefan wouldn't be upset about it."

"I thought about it, but I really miss Rebekah." Elena stared at her friend, quite confused.

"Rebekah?" Elena asked, searching in her mind to try and remember if Caroline had mentioned her before. Caroline didn't, but she did remember Stefan saying something about a girl named Rebekah.

Caroline forgot this was all news to her. She didn't know Nik, or Rebekah. She knew nothing about the people who she grew close to this past years. Even if she didn't like to admit it, she grew fond of Nik as well. And even though she didn't see Rebekah that much, she was almost like a sister. "Sorry," Caroline apologized. "Am I going to fast?" She asked.

"No, it's just- yeah, a little." She chuckled emotionlessly. Caroline's face lit up all of a sudden, confusing Elena a little more.

"Are you free tonight? Please tell me you're free." Caroline said, quickly. "You can come along and meet them! It's going to be great and if Nik starts acting too much like, well, like himself you can save me!" She said excited and all in one breath. "It's going to be great! You're gonna love Rebekah!"

Before Elena had a chance to reply to Caroline saying she already had plans, Bonnie came out of the fitting room once again, now wearing the beautiful cream dress Caroline chose for her, with a smile across her face. "I think this one is actually perfect."

"Bonnie Bennett, don't you look stunning." Caroline motioned for her to turn around so they could get a better look of the back of the dress. It was cutted in the shape of a V. Just enough for it to look classy, yet incredibly sexy.

"My little brother is going to have the most pleasant surprise tonight." Elena said with a smile, while Bonnie giggled.

"Come on." Caroline called them, walking in the direction of the other side of the store while her friends shoot her a questioning look. "You need matching shoes!"

xxxxx

"I think you should try her cellphone." Nik said to Stefan nervously.

Stefan smirked. "She's 15 minutes late, Nik, relax! She's coming."

Rebekah rolled her eyes at her brother, then her ans Stefan shared a knowing look. One that said "he's whiped," then laughed. Nik stood next to a pillar, and Stefan and Rebekah shared an armchair on the waiting area of the restaurant. They kept laughing at something Nik could not care less about. It came naturally to Stefan, laughing with Rebekah. She was wearing a red dress, tight in all the right places. She looked stunning as always. Rebekah was an incredibly pretty girl. Her ice blue eyes, and her natural look made her look different than most girls - special. Even though he acknowledged all of those things on her, he couldn't think about her _that_ way anymore. When they met, though, he was shockingly attracted to her. Firstly because of her looks, but he soon figured out it that wasn't only it. Rebekah was everything Elena wasn't. Concerning her looks, her style, personality, everything. They were complete opposites, and back when they were dating, Stefan wanted that. He wanted to forget all about Elena. About all of the pain she had caused him, and he found a way of doing that by openning up to someone else. Saying it like that makes him sound like a total jerk, but he wasn't, really. Rebekah had also just gotten out of a relationship that went badly. His name was Alex, and they had been together for a little over a year. One day, he decided that life with her wasn't as good as they expect it to be when they started seeing each other. For what Rebekah had told Stefan, they were just too different, even though they were in love. Had been in love. In the end, Rebekah wasn't sure he loved her anymore, so he did the right thing: he talked to her about it, and decided that it was not right of him to be with her having lost those feelings. He did the right thing, yes, but it didn't hurt Rebekah any less. She was over him now, for good. She had been in a while. But at the time, they were both on the rebound and it worked perfectly for both, until it didn't anymore. After a few months of dating, they broke up. They grew really close in that short period of time, though, and decided being friends would be good for both of them. And they were right. It was probably one of the best decisions of their lives.

A few minutes had passed and Nik was walking in circles, growing nervous, as they watched as a silver SUV entered the parking lot. Caroline got out of the car and walked to them, her lips curving into a huge smile as Rebekah got up and they hugged. "You're a bitch, you know!" Caroline exclamed, surprising Rebekah. "You haven't called me in a month," She added, seriously. "And London is not an excuse because they have phones there as well."

Rebekah laughed at the blond in front of her. She really missed Caroline. "I know this might come as a shock, but phone actually work both ways." She told her friend. "And I've been kinda busy." Rebekah added in a tone that implied they had a lot to catch up on. Caroline was already dying to know the news.

"Why don't you and I have lunch tomorrow? You know, girl talk." Caroline eyed Stefan who rolled his eyes, smirking, just before Nik cleaned his throat behind her, announcing he was actually there.

Caroline turned to him. "What?"

"Good night, love." His lips curved with that smile of his that somehow managed to be shy and cocky at the same time. It was intoxicating. Caroline moved her look away from his. "You look stunning as always." He said as he looked her from head to toe, spending a particularly long time on her ass, thanking God she couldn't see him. Stefan rolled his eyes at his friend.

Caroline blushed, and to her luck she wasn't facing him anymore. Rebekah chuckled and Caroline replied shortly, still not looking at him. "Thank you."

"Should we go in? I'm starving!" Stefan said.

"When are you not?" Rebekah mocked him with a pretty bad impersonation of his earlier joke. They shared a laugh and started walking towards the entrance of the establishment.

"No, actually," Caroline said, getting their attention. "we still need to wait for someone."

Stefan looked at her with a questioning look, when he saw a blue Camaro entering the parking lot. He furrowed his brows at her. "Caroline?"

"Uh, oh!" Caroline said, quietly as Rebekah and Nik were trying to understand the situation.

Stefan watched as his brother got out of the car, followed by Elena. She wore a green, one striped dress, and her hair was in a high ponytail. She looked absolutely stunning. He watched as his brother held up his arms and she held on to it as they walked across the lot. Stefan tore his look away, deciding that he didn't need to torture himself more than he already did daily. "You have 5 seconds to tell me they're here by coincidence and not because you invited them."

Before Caroline could even say anything, Elena and Damon were a few steps from them. "Hey," Elena greeted them awkwardly, already regreting to let Caroline talk her into this.

Stefan tried his best to smile at her. "Um, hey!" Caroline looked from Elena to Damon to Stefan. The two Salvatores seemed to be in a staring contest. The intensity of their look was so strong, Caroline actually believed one of them could set fire on the other with their look, if they wanted to. Elena, growing unconfortable, steped foward, giving Stefan a quick hug, and he gave her a kiss on the cheek. Damon didn't seem to like it.

"Night, brother." They kept eyeing each other, and Rebekah realized what was going on, getting protective of Stefan as she usually did.

"Stefan, aren't you going to introduce us?" She asked.

"Yeah," Stefan tore his look away from his brother, motioning with his hand between Rebekah and Elena. "Bekah, this is Elena," he tried to sound natural. "And this is my brother, Damon." He motioned to him. "These are Rebekah and Nik." Nik shook Damon's hand and kissed the back of Elena's hands, who smiled and looked a Caroline. They exchanged their "nice to meet you's" as Rebekah stood aside, waiting for them to finish to speak.

"So you are the famous Elena," Rebekah asked, seeming to be glad to finally meet Elena. "The one who screwed him," She pointed to the older brother. "while dating him, am I right?" She finished, pointing to the other Salvatore.

"Rebekah!" Stefan said her name in a warning tone, while Elena's face turned all different colors. Damon didn't seem to mind it, though.

"Maybe we should go inside." Caroline suggested, hoping to ease the situation, at least a little bit.

"No, um," Elena hesitated. "We should probably go home."

"No, stay." Stefan said, surprising Elena. He smiled and she nodded. They walked into the restaurant in an awkward silence while Stefan walked in front of everyone, asking the receptionist for his reservation.

"Table for four, is that right?" She asked.

"Actually, could you make that six?" The woman nodded, telling the group to follow her to their table. Stefan looked over his shoulder and saw Elena and Damon walking side by side, a little behind Caroline, Rebekah and Nik, holding hands. He sighed.

This was going to be one long, long night.

**XXXXX**

**Uh oh, Caroline, what did you get them into? As usual, please review and tell me your opinions (: xoxo**


	7. Chapter 7

The woman led them to their table, and Rebekah started walking a little faster to catch up with Stefan. "You really can't keep your mouth shut, can you?" He asked her silently.

"You might be willing to give her a free pass, but I'm not as forgiving as you are." She told him, equally as silent.

The showed them their booth and they took their respective seats. It was a round table with 6 chairs around it. It was quite reserved and it made Stefan wonder if it wouldn't be best if they were in a less reserved table, afraid Rebekah would give Elena another piece of her mind and the situation would get out of control.

Rebekah was a great friend, protecting him, looking out for him, but right then he wished she would not be herself for a couple of hours. The last thing he needed was for his blond friend to ruin his newly formed friendship Elena and him had started. As for his brother, well, Stefan wouldn't mind Rebekah saying a thing or two to him.

Stefan pulled out a chair for Rebekah, pushing it back in place when she sat down, taking his seat to her right. Elena eyes them for a moment, tearing her look away before anyone noticed. They seemed to be pretty close, and now that she came to think of it, Damon was never one to pull out a chair for anybody, not even her. Nik sat to Stefan's right, and Caroline took a seat beside him, to which he smiled flirtly at, and she rolled her eyes. Damon sat to Rebekah's left, leaving Elena to take a seat right in front of Stefan. She did everything she could not to have to look at him.

The waitress brought them the menu and they silently searched for something they'd like to eat. The lady asked if they wanted to order drinks first, and Damon asked for a bottle of their best wine.

The silence was too uncomfortable, but Caroline couldn't think of anything to say to break it. The other five were looking at the menu, but she was pretty sure they were mostly pretending to look for something so they wouldn't need to make conversation. She felt bad for Elena. Rebekah was incredibly inappropriate, but then again, she was right. Caroline lowered the menu in her hands and noticed Damon was no longer holding his, but talking to Elena.

"Says here that this shrimp thing is big enough for two people, wanna share it?" Damon asked Elena. Stefan chuckled, making Damon turn to face him. "Do you have a problem, brother?"

"She's allergic." Stefan said, making Elena raise her look to him as well. How does he remember those things?

"No, she's not!" Damon smirked, like what Stefan said was something so impossible it required laughing of.

"I am, actually." Elena corrected him.

"Since when?" Damon asked, confused. He had eaten shrimp with Elena before, hadn't he?

"Since she was born, genius." Stefan snapped at him, not being able to help himself. He was still furious with Damon for being there, ruinning his night.

Rebekah, Nik and even Caroline tried to hide their laughter. Caroline didn't exactly approve of her friend's behavior, but she despised Damon, and it was nice to see someone showing him he wasn't right all the time. He wasn't right most of the time, actually.

"Fine, I'll eat it all by myself." Damon said, annoyed with his brother.

"So, where do you guys know each other from?" Elena asked, turning to Nik, desperate to change the subject, asking the first thing that came to her mind. It was probably better than talking about the fact that her ex boyfriend, even after 3 years without seeing her, still knew her better than her fiancé.

"Oh, Stefan and my sister used to date." Nik said nonchalantly, and Stefan wanted to slap him in the face. People in that family really don't know how to hold their tongues.

"Oh!" Elena exclaimed. Stefan detected disappointment in her voice, but shrugged it off, she had no reason to be disappointed at this piece of information. "Used to?" She asked, pretended to be indifferent, like she was just trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, he couldn't keep up with me." Rebekah joked. Stefan sighed relieved, he expected her to say something nasty. Well, nastier.

"Oh, I doubt that." Elena thought to herself, or maybe she said it out loud, she wasn't sure. If she did, nobody seemed to hear it.

"I don't remember you complaining, miss." They both laughed and Nik looked like he was about to throw up.

"Can we stop talking about my sister's sex life before this gets out of control, please." Nik pleaded, as the waitress approached. They ordered their food and silence was there once again.

Rebekah started to feel bad. Not for what she said to Elena, but because she was the reason of the awkward silence, so she spoke up, making an effort to be friendlier, for Stefan. "No, we just... It wasn't right, he's more like a brother to me."

Elena raised her look and smiled awkwardly at Rebekah, glad to hear that, but not being a hundred sure she believed it.

"And you're almost as annoying as a feminine version of Damon would be." Stefan turned to Rebekah. "No, actually, you're not even close." Stefan said, making everyone laugh. He had to make a tremendous effort to joke and be civil to his brother tonight, despite his earlier snap. He didn't want Elena to feel guilty for ruinning the Salvatore's apparently not so unbreakable bond. It was Damon's fault. She helped, yes, but she wasn't the one related to him. She wasn't the one he knew and looked up to his entire life. Damon was. And this was his fault.

"I feel sorry for you, mate." Nik said, getting another round of laughter out of them all.

They kept the conversation very superficial. Stefan didn't once speak directly to Elena and she was starting to feel a little frustrated, though she didn't make the smallest effort to talk directly to him. Nik seemed perfectly fine to her. He wasn't inappropriate like Caroline suggested earlier he would be. Maybe because he knew the situation was already awkward enough. Rebekah seemed okay too, if you ignore that first comment about Elena's betrayal. Their food finally arrived and they all started eating, except for Rebekah.

"God, why didn't I order the same thing you did?" Rebekah looked at Stefan's meal with envy. It looked so, so tasty!

Stefan smiled at her hungry face, then at her plate. It really didn't look as tasty as his own meal did. "Here," He said, putting some of his ratatouille in the fork and bringing it up to her mouth. Elena watched their interaction, it made her want to be sick.

"This is so unbelievably good!" She said as he repeated his earlier movement. "You don't have to feed me, Stefan, I have hands." She said laughing, grabbing her own fork and starting to eat his food.

"I try to be a nice, helpful guy and what do I get in return? No food." He dropped his fork and grinned. He looked across the table for the first time that night, locking eyes with Elena who had a different look on her face. He couldn't read it, but she wasn't pleased. He didn't plan on looking, but his look had a way of finding his way to her, like it was some sort of magnetism. She quickly looked away from him, going back to playing with her food. He noticed she still haven't touched it.

"Is everything okay?" Stefan turned to Elena, interrupting his playful banter with rebekah while she kept eating his food.

"Yeah, of course." She answered a few moments later when she realized he was talking to her. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, you haven't touched your food and that salmon is your favorite." Damn him! _Stop knowing me so well_, she thought.

He could tell something really was bothering her, but knew not to press the issue. She would talk when she wanted to.

"Rebekah, stop devouring my food!" Stefan exclaimed, surprised to see she was already halfway done. Rebekah pulled a devilish smile across her face while he grabbed his fork and started eating again. "Like I said, you're always starving." He said, earning a shove on the shoulder from her.

"Shut up and eat, Salvatore."

Xxxxx

They all finished their meals and the environment was a lot more comfortable. Caroline was even being nice to Nik, and he didn't once flirt with her. It was his new tactic, Stefan guessed, letting her come to him instead of him looking for her. Whatever it was it probably wouldn't work. Caroline was too proud to admit the fact that she still was attracted to Nik. Even Damon was civil, though a lot more quiet than usual. He was probably trying as hard as Stefan to keep it together for Elena. She was the problem, though. She never touched her food, and didn't ask for any desert, all the while keeping quiet and occasionally nodding her head as if encouraging the others to keep making conversation. If it wasn't for that magnetism, Stefan wouldn't even have noticed she was their with them.

Stefan payed the bill and they headed out. As usual, Rebekah and him were walking side by side, now at the back of the group and she could see it was bothering Stefan, the way Elena was acting. Rebekah didn't know the first thing about Elena, but one wasn't supposed to be that quiet. "What's wrong with her?"

"Maybe you scared her off." Stefan said, annoyed.

"I hope I did." She said. "What are they doing?" Rebekah looked at her brother and Caroline this time and the were walking really close to each other, their arms brushing against the others's one, and laughing.

Stefan looked at them, with zero interest. "Maybe they finally realized the we're meant for each other." Moving his look to Elena and Damon.

"Doubt that." The blond disagreed. "Maybe it would be a lot easier if Nik told her he loved her back, instead of panicking like a little kid and screwing things up."

"Nah," Stefan said, not taking his eyes away from his brother and Elena. He hand was on her hips and her head was leaning onto his shoulder. Damn it! He wanted to touch those hips. "I think they'll figure it out eventually." He told Rebekah. "We just need to get Caroline drunk enough." Rebekah laughed and Stefan saw Elena's body stiffen under Damon's touch. What the hell was wrong with her? Could it be her parents? Maybe. Probably. She was starting to miss them too much. Yeah, that was probably it.

They got to the parking lot and Damon told Elena he'd go and get the car for them. Stefan waited until he left to go to Elena. He put his hand on her back to get her attention and she nearly jumped, turning to him. "I'm sorry about Bekah."

"No, it's okay." She told him, not being very convincing. "I probably deserved it."

Stefan shook his head, and Elena smiled weakly at him. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem kind of... off."

"I'm just tired." She lied. "Look, Stefan, I'm sorry about tonight. I shouldn't have come."

"Don't apologize, Elena, it's okay, we all had a good time." He lied as well. He had the worst time.

"Yeah, I'm not sure about that." She said, and both of them kept staring awkwardly at nothing in front of them in silence. "I like Nik," Elena said, breaking the awkwardness and changing the subject. "He seems like a decent guy."

"You should tell Caroline that."

"Why does she hate him?"

"She doesn't. They had a thing." He told her. "A summer thing, and it kind of went downhill." Stefan looked over at the parking lot and he saw Damon's car approaching.

He got out of the car, and walked over to them, putting an arm around Elena's waist when he got close enough, pulling her close to him. Stefan took a step back. "We should go, I still need to drop them back at the hotel." Stefan said to Elena, already walking away, putting as much distance as he could between them.

"Why didnt you invite them to stay with us?" Damon asked, making Stefan turn around.

"Well, you're the one living there and I didn't plan on asking you for any favors, so." Stefan said, exhausted of pretending to be in good terms with Damon for the night.

Damon eyed him, then lowered his look to catch Elena's, who was looking down at the ground. He wondered what was wrong with her. She usually wasn't like that. "Take them to the hotel and get their things. They're staying with us, no question." Damon turned around, only giving Elena a chance to send Stefan a quick smile, before turning and leaving.

Stefan went back to the rest of the group, wishing Damon and Elena's intrusion never happened. "Well, that was something." Caroline said, finally.

"What were you thinking? I mean, inviting Damon and Elena..." Stefan asked the perky blond.

"Oh, I didn't invite him." She told Stefan, and he looked at her confused. "I invited Elena, Damon's just a party crasher."

"That makes my night a lot better." Stefan said, ironically and rubbed his eyes. "I'm exhausted." He said. "Come on, let's go. My dear big brother invited you guys to stay with us." Stefan turned to Nik and Bekah.

"That's very nice of him." Nik said. Rebekah chuckled. "What?"

"He's not being nice, Nik." Stefan answered.

"Why not?"

"Because it's an excuse not to have to be alone with Stefan in the house, I'm sure." Rebekah clarified and Stefan nodded.

"How do you know that?" Nik asked, surprised with his sister.

"People are easy to read." Rebekah told him with a winning smile. "Can we please go now? I need a shower and a bed."

xxxxx

After showing his friends their respective rooms, Stefan threw himself on his bed, hoping to be able to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. That's not how it happened, though. He couldn't sleep. Damon still wasn't home, and he couldn't only imagine what his brother and ex girlfriend were doing. They're engaged, Stefan! He told himself. They are going to get married. He wanted to slap himself for thinking about those things, but hearing it, or seeing her ring — it was nothing compared to actually seeing them together. Hugging, kissing, touching each other. Stefan didn't realize how much it had hurt him until now. He kept looking at the ceiling, wondering what the hell was he doing. He felt a sting on his chest when he let the memory of seeing them back then, when everything got so screwed up, fill him.

_The taxi Stefan was in stopped at the front door of the boarding house. He paid the driver, telling him to keep the change. He got out of the car, grabbed his bags and sighed. He missed being home. Italy was great as always. He remembered going there as a kid a couple of times with Damon and his father. Father said they couldn't live without knowing their origin. The Salvatores. The long line of Salvatores, traditional family in Italy, founding family of Mystic Falls. Four year old Stefan didnt understand all that very well, but he enjoyed the warm wind the place had in the spring, making his skin tingle, and liked seeing the high trees that made him want to climb really, really high and pretend he was the king of the world, or maybe Tarzan, he still had to choose. He didn't know how to climb trees, anyway. Maybe Damon could teach him how when father wasn't looking.  
_

_18 year old Stefan enjoyed Italy very much as well, but for completely different reasons. He loved the wind and the trees, yes, but the history and the scenary, they held so much meaning, Stefan couldn't deatach his eyes from them. The only thing that would make this even better would be sharing it with Elena. She had stayed home to take care of some problems with Jeremy. She appeared to be the only one to get through to him, and his drug problem was getting out of control. He offered to stay with her, maybe help, but she insisted for him to go and enjoy his trip, and she promised to be by his side the next time. He couldn't wait for next time. Maybe Jeremy was better now, who knew? They could go back to Rome that same summer for a short stay. _

_Stefan wanted to go straight to Elena's house, but his flight landed very late, and everyone at her house was probably in bed already. So he went home, planning on taking a quick nap before heading to Elena's. Nothing was stronger than his desire to see her, not even his exhaustion. He grabbed his bags, throwing them back on his shoulder, and walked to the door. He pushed it, hoping Damon had forgotten it open so he wouldn't have to go throw his stuff to find his keys, and it openned slightly. He pushed it open carefully, not wanting to make any noise ont to wake his brother up. It wasn't necessary, though. Before he even stepped inside the house, he could see Damon on the couch, laying on top of someone. If it wasn't for the girl's skinny arms on his brother's shirtless back, he wouldn't even have seen her there. They were swallowing each other. Stefan wanted to go upstairs, not having the smallest desire to watch a porn movie with his brother as the star._

_He took a step foward, careful not to step on that one spot on the hardwood floor that haunted house noise. As he did it, the couple on the couch changed position. Damon was now lying under her, and her brown hair with blond highlights was falling in front of her face, not allowing Stefan to realize who she was. He was curious about it. Not any girl would be able to get his brother's mind off of Katherine. Actually, he never thought anyone would. A few more steps and he was at the bottom of the stairs. He turned around to see if they were aware of his presence, and saw the girl had lifted herself from Damon's body. He messy hair still wouldn't let him identify her. She grabbed the hem of her shirt and lifted it up. Stefan tried to look elsewhere, as the girl undressed, but he couldn't. He was frozen in place, staring. Air escaped his lungs. Sharp pain going through his heart._

_How did he not notice it was her, even without seeing her face? Her hair was different. But that was no excuse. Maybe his mind blocked that possibility, he didn't know._

_What he did know was that Elena, his Elena, was sitting on his brother's lap, undressing herself to him. Kissing him, letting him touch her. And he was doing it. He was touching her hips and her waist and her ass. Tears started grouping in his eyes. He blinked a few times. That was not happening. that couldn't be happening. He wanted to scream but he couldn't find his voice. He couldn't find any strenth to move, either. He just stood there, with tears rolled down his eyes, watching his brother and his girlfriend, together._

_How could they be doing that to him? The only two people in the world he loved with his entire heart and soul. Two people he would die for without giving it a second thought. How could they? How dare them betray him like that?_

_He watched as Elena leaned down and started kissing Damon again, her hands going down his body and stopping on his jeans, unbuttoning it. That was too much. He had to get out of there. Now. He forced his muscles to work again, and ran out the door, not bothering to be silent. He got to the door and turned around one more time, and looked at them. He literally felt like he was being stabbed in the back. How could he have been so naive? She didn't tell him to go without her because of Jeremy. She didn't want to go with him. She didn't want to be with him. She wanted Damon. So he would let her have him._

_With his bags over his shoulder Stefan walked out of the house, slamming the door behind him. It was silent outside, and he could hear Elena's voice in the distance. "What was that?" She sounded startled, a little more than she slound have been._

_"Just the wind." Damon answered her. "Where were we? Oh, yeah!" Stefan hear, completely disgusted with the two of them. _

_He walked away, and kept walking and walking into the woods, not even bothering to think about where he was going. There was no point in it. He had no home to get back to._

Stefan mentally cursed himself for letting his thoughts go that far on the memory. Usually he would block it before he could place her face, like it would make it less real. But it was real. It was real then, and it was a hell of a lot more real now, seeing them together as a couple. Stefan rubbed his eyes and kicked his shoes off, not bothering to change clothes, he was too tired for that. He made himself comfortable and fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

**XXXXX**

**So, we got Stefan's point of view on seeing Elena and Damon together that night. I might write Elena's point of view, or maybe even Damon's, later on, would you guys like that?**

**Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate it (: xoxo**


	8. Chapter 8

Stefan heard the noise his door usually makes when being openned and sighed. All he could see was red, indicating that the sun had rised and was iluminating his face. He pressed his eyes harder, hoping to get rid of all that red and go back to sleep. It was no use though. He felt someone kneeling on his bed and climbing up, her legs brushing agaisnt his as she pushed the covers off of his body.

"Hmmm," Stefan moaned, still sleepy. "What are you doing?" He asked when her breath make contact with the skin of his neck. Still with his eyes closed, he felt her teeth grazing the sensitive skin of his neck, making it burn before her lips found their way to his jaw. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She continued planting kisses along his jaw, then down his neck. "You shouldn't be here." He said.

"Where else would I be?" She said as she unbuttoned his shirt, just a couple of buttons, enough for her hand to sneak under it and caress his rock hard chest. He openned his eyes slowly to find Elena with a huge, devilish smile on her face. He let his eyes wonder down her body for a moment, noticing her choice of clothing for the morning. She was wearing a light pink, silky nightie that was wrapping around all the right places. A grin appeared on his face as he pulled his hands up and down her body, and she closed the distance between their bodies.

"Elena, Damon could..." Stefan trailed of with a complete lack of conviction. Having her so close to with didn't allow him to concentrate, and she made the tiniest effort to interrupt him, he let her.

"Dont ruin the moment, Stefan." She whispered in his ear. His name sounded seductive coming out of her mouth. She lowered her hands down his abs, taking her time, and when her hands finally met the buttons of his jeans he grabbed her hands and turned them around. Elena was under him now, her nightie barely reaching her tights.

"You can't do something like that and expect me to have any control over myself, Lena." He told her, as he lowered his face and started kissing her neck.

"I love it when you call me like that." She said through a moan, as he went down from her neck to her cleavage. His hands slipped under her nightie, and started fondling her hips.

"Lena, Lena, Lena." He repeated between kisses. "I need you so bad." He told her silently. "So, so, so bad." He added, as his lips left her cleavage and found their way to her jaw.

"Then have me." He lifted himself from her a little to look inside her eyes. There was no hesitation in them. "Now, Stefan." She added, and before she could finish, his lips found their way to hers. The kiss was passionate, hungry even. Stefan had never kissed anyone that way before, not even Elena. They kept making out on his bed, until Elena stopped then, a few minutes later.

"What?" Stefan asked, confused by her sudden movement.

"I said now, Stefan!" She said, as she grabbed the hem of her nightie and started pulling it up, only to be stopped by him now.

"I believe this is my job." He said, as he grabbed the hem of it as pulled it over her head, exposing he lacy bra and panties. She sat on his lap and started unbottoning the rest of his shirt and kissing the skin below the hem of his shirt, just above the begining of his jeans.

"Stefan." She whispered his name.

"Yeah?"

"Stefan!" She said louder. He put his weight on his elbows and raised his head some, startle by her calling his name like that.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"Wake up!" She said, looking inside his eyes. "I'm going to eat all of you pancakes." The image before his eyes suddently disappeared and the next thing Stetan could feel was cold.

Ice cold water being thrown on his body, soaking his shirt and jeans he didn't bother changing the night before. He jumped from the bed while hearing laughter in the room.

"What the fuck?!"

"Now, now, mind your language, mister Salvatore." Elena said while giggling. That bitch!

Rebekah was curled up on the corner of his room laughing at him and Caroline was beside Elena, who still held a bucket, where he supposed the water came from.

"You threw ice cold water at me!" He accused her.

"Really? What clued you in?" She asked, giggling some more.

"You little..."

"Language, Stefan!" She put the bucket on the floor as she watched his angry face turn into a playful one with a smirk on it. He took a step foward towards her, water dripping from his body. She took a step back as soon as she realized what he was about to do. "Stefan, don't!"

It was too late, though. She took a couple steps back, getting out of his room, then ran almost the whole length of the hallway before he, who was running after her, could catch her. His soaked jeans made contact with her long, bare legs, only covered by her dark blue shorts that were only a little less short than her nightie in his dream was, and she twitched. "Stop!" She said laughing, trying to get rid of his arms that were holding her from behind. By this time, the back of the white tank top she was wearking was soaked as well.

"You brought this on yourself, Lena." He told her with a grin.

"Okay, you've got your revenge, now let me go." She said, still giggling like an idiot. It was good being this close to Stefan. More than good, actually.

"You think this is your punishment?" He asked her, and he watched her body stiffen when she realized what he had grabbed her for.

"You wouldn't dare!" She said, firmly, though she wasn't all that sure.

"Yes, I would." He said, starting to tickle her to what she screamed before starting to laughed uncontrollably. Elena was the most ticklelish person Stefan had ever met, and there was nothing that amused him more than seeing her like that, struggling to get rid of him, laughing, and being all kinds of adorable.

"No, no, stop!" She said through laughter, making him laugh as well. Her laugh was so contagious that he believed she could make anyone laugh just because she was doing it. "I'll do anything you want, stop!" She yelled now, not being able to control herself.

"Anything, huh?" He asked her, whispering at her ear. He had no intention of being sexy or seductive, but it clearly had an effect on Elena. He felt her body stiffen against his, and when he looked ahead, he noticed Damon was standing at the edge of the stairs, watching them.

Stefan instantly let to of Elena and her laughter died down. They keep standing pretty close, as Damon approached them. "Don't stop on my account." Damon said, somewhat angrily. "With all that screeaming, I just wanted to make sure there wasn't anyone murdering my fiancé up here." He said, emphasising the word _fiancé. _Stefan took a step away from Elena, the atmosphere changed completely. "Where's the flood?"

"I was just waking Stefan up for breakfast." Elena explained, and Damon knew she was trying to convince him there was nothing more to it. Maybe she was even trying to convince herself.

"And she happened to drop a bucket of cold water on my head." Stefan said seriously annoyed, and Elena wished she hadn't gone through with Rebekah's idea in the first place. "Let's go downstairs, I made pancakes." Elena said, turning around to Stefan who stood by the wall, few steps from her, with his arms crossed over his chest and the deadliest glare she had ever seen on his face. He was staring at Damon, and when she turned around again, the elder brother had the same expression on his face. It was like they were in a never ending staring contest, and Elena felt the need to break it. "Stefan, come on." She said, trying to get his attention.

"Go ahead," He said, finally breaking their gaze. "I'll change into something dry first." He said, turning around and going back to his room.

He slammed the door and threw himself on his bed, only to jump from it instants later. It was soaked, just like him. He pulled his shirt over his head and threw it on the ground angrily.

"God, it's just a little bit of water, relax!" Rebekah said, annoyed with how big of a deal he was making about it.

"Be happy we didn't throw peanut butter at you." Caroline added. "That would have taken forever to wash off." Rebekah chuckled.

"I don't care about the water." He told them. "But if I stay one more second in this house I swear I'll go insane." Stefan went to his wardrobe, across from the armchairs the girls were seated on, to grab a change of clothes and a towel.

"What were you dreaming about?" Rebekah asked him.

"What?" He said, confused. They didn't need to know he was dirty dreaming about Elena.

"You were smiling while you slept." Caroline laughed lightly. "It was about her, wasn't it?"

"Her? What! No!" He stuttered.

"Yes, it was! You were having a sex dream about Elena!" Rebekah said loudly, through giggles.

"Could you lower your voice, please." Stefan tried to shut her up. "What time is it?" He asked, changing the subject.

"A little before 10." Caroline answered. Stefan walked over to his bathroom, and walked out of it before even closing the door.

"Where's Nik, by the way?" He asked.

"Did you hear the part where she said it's before 10 o'clock?" Rebekah asked. Stefan chuckled, going back inside his bathroom.

xxxxx

Stefan went downstairs about an hour later, having pushed the mattress to the middle of the room in order for the sun to dry it. He hoped it would, and fast, because he didnt feel like sleeping in a bed that smelled like a wet, dead dog.

When he got there everyone had already eaten, and luckily for him, Damon had left 10 minutes before for a meeting. Some business guys from California, he really coulnd't care less. It was funny how Damon was taking care of their family's company and he wanted nothing to do with it. Everyone always thought it would be the opposite. Stefan, the responsible good-in-everything-he-does brother not wanting anything to do with it, while Damon, the reckless, imprudent disappointment stepping up and taking the responsability. He wasn't such a disappointment to everyone in the end. Stefan didn't want to do business, so he didn't know much about it, but the little Zach had told him, Damon was doing a great job.

Stefan ate his pancakes in the kitchen and it wasn't half bad, considering Elena's cooking abilities. He remembered he was the one who taught her how to make pancakes and smiled. She had a good teacher.

Then he found the three girls in front of the TV, talking about how awfully dressed the blond was while the burnett looked amazing, and all Stefan could think about was how both of them were okay with him. Girls have a sick mind.

"Stefan, Caroline and I are going shopping today." Rebekah said, continuing to apply nailpolish on her toenails.

"And this information is relevant to me because?" He asked, uninterested.

"Because we need you to come carry the bags."

Stefan laughed loudly. "Rebekah, sweetie, I'm not gonna be your shopping buddy."

"Oh, come on, Stefan! We're not gonna take long I promise." Caroline said to him.

"The last time I heard that, this one made me wait for 6 hour before she could find her prom dress. Never again." Stefan pointed to Elena and she laughed. After the fourth hour, Stefan threatened not to take her to prom if she didn't choose the damn dress in the next 15 minutes. She made him wait about two more hours for her, but it was worth it. She was the most beautiful girl on that dance. He knew she would be the most beautiful even if she wore her usual skinny jeans and tank top, but he admired seeing her in that dress. It was totally worth the wait.

"Fine, Caroline, go wake Nik up and ask him to come with us." Rebekah ordered.

Caroline cocked an eyebrow at Rebekah, who was now looking at her feet, trying to decide had she done a good work or not. "Why don't you go?"

"You know how he gets when someone wakes him up." Rebekah said simply. "And you are you." She told her friend, and Elena assumed that in her head Rebekah was making a completely obvious point, though Elena didn't know which point that was.

"Ugh!" Caroline exclaimed, getting up and heading to the door.

"Try taking off some pieces of clothing, he'll agree to anything you ask." Stefan yelled after her as she crossed the doorframe.

"Screw you, Stefan!" They heard Caroline yelling from the hall, getting a round of laughter out of them.

"What about you, miss Gilbert, what are your plans for the day?" Stefan turned to her.

"Oh, you know," She started, somewhat embarrassed, even though she had no reason to be. He boyfriend was in a meeting and would take God knows how long to get out of if, Jenna had work to do and her brother was somewhere in bed with her best friend. She still cringed at the thought of it. Her brother and her almost sister sleeping together, even after four years. Rebekah invited her to have lunch with her and Caroline, but she declined politely, making up a lame excuse that had something to do with taking care of some stuff for her aunt. She wanted to tell Stefan she was free, but remembered the white lie she had told rebekah and decided to stick with it. Rebekah already thought she was a cheat, probably a slut, she didn't need to think of her as a liar as well. "Jenna asked me to do this thing for her..." she trailed off.

"Can I help?" Stefan asked immediately, probably too fast, and Elena smiled.

"It would be great." She said, accepting his help in a task she still needed to make up. It should be a long one, so they could spend the day together. _Think of something fast, Elena!_ She thought to herself, anticipating his next question. It didn't come, though, he just have her a genuine smile that warmed her. Not only her body, but he'd soul as well. His smile was breathtaking.

They heard steps on the hall and Caroline came back inside the room. "He's in." She said, happy to find a utility for Nik.

"I'll go change then we can leave for lunch." Rebekah got up from the floor. "I'm-"

"Starving." Stefan interrupted her and she grabbed a pillow from the couch, throwing it at his face, but he grabbed it in mid air.

Rebekah came back 15 minutes later, showered and ready to go. As Caroline and her waved their goodbyes to Stefan and Elena, Elena couldn't help noticing how incredibly beautiful she was, and how little make up she has on. Her skin was flawless and the little mascara she put on made her ice blue eyes pop. She was breathtaking. Just like Stefan, Elena thought. What a good couple they formed. She couldn't help but feeling a little jealous of Rebekah, but she dismissed that thought.

Stefan suggested they had lunch as well, before getting to what they had to do. They again, talked about everything and anything at once. It was so easy, effortless even, talking to Stefan. He had a reply to everything you said, and knew exactly what questions to ask when necessary, keeping the conversation alive. They left the grill a little after one o' clock and walked to the nearby ice cream parlor to get desert and sat at one of the benches on the town square to eat them.

"So," Stefan started. "Why didn't you want to hang out with Care and Bekah?" He asked her, taking a bite from his ice cream. "I know you made that thing about Jenna up." He laughed lightly. "You're a lousy liar."

Elena blushed, lowering her head in embarassement, laughing nervously, which Stefan found incredibly cute. "Rebekah doesn't really like me, so..."

"That's not true!" Stefan disagreed. "Well, it is, but it's nothing personal." He added and she laughed.

"That makes me feel a lot better." She joked.

"You don't like her as well, so..." He said, matter of factly.

"It's not that I don't like her," she said "I just-"

"Don't like her." He interrupted her and she rolled her eyes.

"You seem to adore her, though." She said, a little bit more bitter than she intended on. He noticed and smiled.

"Why, are you jealous?" He jokes and her body tensed a little before she smiled.

"Maybe I am." She said, going along with their much enjoyed playful banter.

"Don't worry, babe, I give the same amount of attention to all my fourteen women." She shivered at the word babe. He hasn't called her like that in so long. God, she missed it.

"Fourteen? That's sounds like a lot of work."

"Two for each day of the week, I can keep up. " He winked at her as she took a bite of her already melting ice cream.

"Someone's cocky." She joked.

"I'm honest, is different." She laughed and he laughed with her.

It was amazing, being around her. Laughing together, joking and talking. He asked himself how was he able to stay away from her for so long. He wanted to mentaly promise himself not to leave her again, ever, but you shouldn't make promises you can't keep.

xxxxx

They spent the rest of the day together, doing whatever Elena wanted to do. Stefan didn't mind, he enjoyed it, really. A little before the twilight, they went back to the house and Damon was just arriving. Elena went over to him and he pulled her for a overly passionate kiss in front of Stefan, and when they were both out of air in their lungs, they pulled away, and Stefan was nowhere in sight.

Eventually, he came back downstairs to find Elena and Damon curled up on the couch, watching a movie. Stefan sat down on the armchair across from them and burried himself in a book, only to be interrupted by someone yelling outside of his house. He placed the girls voice and ran outside.

"Do you ever stop being a jerk?!" He saw Caroline yelling at Nik, who was standing on the other side of the car. Stefan knew it really was a good idea for a car to be between them, because looking at Caroline's face, he knew she could jump on Nik and strangle him with her bare hands, like she had threatened to do countless times before.

"Could you two stop fighting? For God's sake!" Rebekah complained. She quickly stepped away from them, into Stefan's direction.

"What's going on?" Stefan asked, afraid of the answer. With those two, they get worst every time.

"Nik accidentally sneaked into her changing room and caught her half naked." Rebekah rolled her eyes, annoyed with all the screaming she had to witness all the way from the mall.

"Oh my god!" Elena said, behind Stefan, coming out to check on all the noise as well. Stefan laughed and Elena eyed him, surprised.

"They've seen each other in less than that." Stefan said, and Rebekah nodded, like that was completely normal. Maybe to them it was.

"How many more times do I have to apologize? I didn't know you weren't dressed!" Nik yelled at her.

"You don't go into changing rooms to keep your clothes on, Klaus!"

"Uh, oh!" Stefan said. "She called him Klaus."

"Let's go inside," Rebekah suggested. "I don't want to witness her murdering my brother."

They all turned around and went inside, but were still able to hear them yelling at each other. Rebekah wished they would stop, even though it was kind of funny to watch. Sometimes.

"You asked me to grab a dress for you, how was I supposed to know I wasn't supposed to go there and give it to you?"

"Don't you have a brain or you just chose not to use it?" They heard Caroline scream in the distance, louder than before.

"I bet 50 bucks they'll get back together before we go back home." Rebekah turned to Stefan.

"I bet it'll happen by the end of the week." Stefan said, before going back to his book, trying to block all the shouting that would continue at least for another half hour.

**XXXXX**

**So, I kind of needed a filler and I thought I little bit of fun wouldnt hurt anyone. For the person who asked about whether or not Katherine will be in this story, the answer is you'll have to wait and see ;) I have good stuff coming up and I have a feeling you'll like that. **

**Thank you for reading and commenting on it, guys! As always, don't forget to review (: xoxo**


	9. Chapter 9

Damon and Elena bad been home for about an hour. They went in laughing and kissing and being all sorts of puke worthy. Rebekah was out with Caroline for the entire day doing girl stuff, and still haven't come back. Rebekah would probably crash at Caroline's since it was already late. Nik and him were watching the fight in the living room when his brother and ex girlfriend got home. They went upstairs while Stefan tried really hard to ignore them. They got there and Stefan could still hear all the noise they were making, bumping into stuff that fell and shattered on the ground while they did God knows what. He grabbed the remote and turned the volume up, completely covering the noise coming from the second floor, and giving him the impression there was no one other and him and Nik in the house.

Upstairs, Damon slammed the door of his room shut, before carrying Elena over to his bed. He place her on the bed, and climbed on top of her. They continued their heated make out session for several minutes before Damon detached his lips from her and went down to kiss her neck. Elena moaned silently as he sucked on her skin. One hand of his went down her body and the other supported his weight. His hand slipped under her jeans as he went back to try and kiss her. She turned her face uncomfortably, moving away from his kiss. He pushed himself away from her, just enough to be able to look at her. She was looking away from him, and when she felt his eyes on her, she closed hers, embarrased. Damon removed his hand and pushed himself away from her quickly, for her surprise, and when she openned her eyes again, he was sitting on the edge of the bed, with his back turned to her.

"Damon," Elena said his name through a whisper. He waved his hand at her, in and attempt to silence her. She lowered her head and waited for him to say something.

"What the hell is wrong?" He asked, frustrated, after a couple of minutes.

"It's, um, I just-" She stuttered, trying to think of something to say. It came out blank. She ran out of excuses.

"I don't want to hear anymore of your excuses, Elena." Damon said, with his back still turned to her. "I don't care that we haven't had sex since before I went to California. Honestly, I don't. I just want you to be honest with me about it." He turned to her, his ice blue eyes piercing into hers. She wanted to turn away but she couldn't. So she just kept staring at him, not knowing what to say. "It's Stefan, isn't it?"

Her eyes widened at the mention of the other Salvatore's name. "What?"

"He's the reason why you've been acting so strange lately, isn't it?"

"Stefan is my friend, Damon, there's-"

"I'm not blind, Elena, you two have been spending a lot of time together, just admit it!" He interrupted her.

"My parents have just died!" She said, almost yelling at him. "How am I supposed to act? What's normal for me?" She yelled this time, with tears grouping in her eyes.

His face softened, and he came closer to her and reached for her hand to calm her down. She pulled her hand away from his and whiped the tears that were streaming down her cheeks."Elena..." Damon wanted to say something, maybe apologize for even saying anything, but he was no good with words, so he didn't say anything. At least, none of the things he should have said. "I'm sorry, I just..."

"I know." She said after a while in silence.

He had every right to be mad at her. She was freaking out over something so simple, so natural to a couple, specially one that's engagged. Something was holding her back, and she was sure it was the death of her parents, but now that she said it out loud to him, she wasn't that sure anymore. Maybe he was right. Maybe Stefan was having an effect on her. Maybe she was letting him get under her skin. Maybe, just maybe, he was already under her skin. Aybe he had been there all along.

Elena layed down on the bed and shut her eyes, whiping the last strand of tears off her face. "Just hold me." She asked, silently.

He layed beside her and put an arm around her, and both of them fell asleep as soon as they closed their eyes.

xxxxx

"No freaking way!" Rebekah said loudly, and Stefan could hear from the other side of the grocery shop as he picked up various items he needed to make dinner tonight. He shook his head. She was spending so much time with Caroline she was already becoming as scandalous as the other blond. He shrugged it and went back to checking his list, making sure he didn't forget anything important.

"Of all places, this is where I find into you?" Rebekah said to the girl in front of her, making her turn around this time.

She had long, curly hair that was falling perfectly on her back. She was wearing dark jeans and a black strapless shirt that fit her perfectly. As usual, she was wearing heels that made her already long lean legs, longer. "Rebekah Mikaelson!" The girl said, pulling a wide smile across her face. "What the hell are you doing here?" She asked, throwing her arms around the blond's neck and pulling her to a tight hug.

"I'm visiting a couple of friends." Rebekah explained, briefly. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in ages!"

"You know, around." She said, casually, hiding her excitement. "London, Milan," she shrugged, like it was nothing, but both of them knew she was just kidding. She was crazy about all of those places, and Rebekah knew she was really happy for being able to get what she wanted. In the end she always got what she wanted.

"Bekah, what should I make for desert? I was thinking..." Stefan looked up to see Rebekah standing in front of a brunette, and it almost made him drop the things he had on his hands. "Katherine!"

"You're thinking of having me for desert?" she smirked. "I'm totally okay with that."

Stefan laughed. That was typical Katherine. He looked her over from head to toe, and he had to admit, she looked hot. Hotter than ever. He put the things he was carrying on the shopping cart quickly and walked over to her, pulling her into a hug. "I never thought I'd see you again, specially not here." He laughed lightly.

"You two know each other?" Rebekah asked, surprised with the coincidence.

"Mystic Falls is not London or New York, Rebekah, everyone knows everyone around here." Katherine said to the blond.

"Wait, how do you two know each other?" Stefan asked, quite confused.

"This one dated my brother for like a month before driving him crazy." Rebekah laughed at the memory.

"You dated Nik?" Stefan asked, surprised. Nik was defenitely not Katherine's type.

"God, no!" Rebekah laughed but Katherine kept quiet, which was unlike of Katherine. "She dated my half brother." Rebekah told him but he still had a confused face expression. "I told you about him." He kept staring at her, confused and Katherine laughed lightly.

"Elijah, Stefan!" Katherine said.

"You're kidding right?" Stefan asked, shocked. "You mean Elijah, Elijah? That Elijah?"

"What's with Elijah?" Rebekah asked, quite confused, since they were saying her brother's name like it actually meant something to them.

Stefan looked at his friend, realizing he had never told her that part of the story. "Your brother is actually a home wrecker." Stefan told her laughing lightly.

"Oh, come on, Damon and I were lost long before Elijah." Katherine said with a smirk, but Stefan knew her well enough to se right through it.

"I'm not talking about you two." Stefan said, and Katherine cocked her head to the side and sent him a confused glance. "You lost so much." Stefan laughed again, emotionlessly this time. "Wanna grab a coffee or something?"

xxxxx

"So, he slept with Elena?" Katherine asked surprised. Damon wasn't the most reliable or loyal person. He had always been with her, yes, but in general, not only in romantic relationships. He would often disappoint people, sometimes even on purpose, but Katherine never thought he could do something like that to his brother. "To get back at me for walking away on him?"

"He never actually openly admited it, but yeah, I think so." He told her, nodding.

"I have to admit, that crossed the line, even for me." Katherine said, somehow impressed with the news.

"Yeah, well, tell me about it." Stefan said, taking a sip of his juice.

"You know what I don't understand?" Rebekah says, catching both of theirs attention. "Why you still haven't stopped this stupid engagement."

Katherine laughed out loud. "He would never do such thing." She told Rebekah. "He always does the right thing."

"Why don't you do it then?" The blond asked her and she twitched uncomfortable in her seat. "I mean, you like Damon, right?" Stefan nodded and Katherine just kept staring at them with her signature smirk. "And he's crazy about you?" Rebekah asked, and Katherine was the one to nod now. "So it shouldn't be hard."

She though about it for a moment. "Maybe I will." Katherine managed to say, pulling a even wider smirk across her face.

"Great! Tonight then, Stefan's cooking dinner." Rebekah said laughing. She didn't think Katherine would agree to it, but it was nice to plot against that little bitch her friend loved so much. But part of her hoped that there was more to the story Katherine had just clued her in on, and the brunette actually had real feelings for the elder Salvatore.

Stefan laughed out loud, maybe too loud, and Rebekah notices he was nervous. "No one is breaking anything off, specially not tonight."

"Why not?" Katherine spoke this time. "Are you looking forward to being your brother's best man sometime in the near future?"

To that, Stefan rolled his eyes. "Because if they're happy together, I can't ruin it, can I?"

"Your talent for being the better man is just tiring, Stefan. And nauseating. And extremely annoying." She told him, getting laughter out of Rebekah.

Stefan rolled his eyes again. "You should try it sometime."

"Not giving a shit is just so much more fun." He rolled his eyes one last time.

"Whatever, so you're coming, right?" The blond girl asked.

"I highly doubt throwing a bunch of people who can't stand each other in the same room and seeing what happens first, suicide or homicide, is a good idea."

"Then it's a good thing nobody asked you." Katherine smirked.

"It's settled then." Rebekah said, quickly turning to Stefan for the final approval, to which he just raised an eyebrows and nodded.

He still thought this was a terrible idea, but when Katherine put something in her mind, no one could take it out. She did whatever she wanted to, and in all honesty, Stefan envied that sometimes. Like she had previously said, Stefan did what was right, even if it was a tough decision. That's what made him feel good with himself. But sometimes, he wished he wouldn't feel so guilty about just doing what came to mind, not caring about consequences, because in the end, he's always the one getting hurt.

xxxxx

"Do you need any help in that?" Stefan heard Elena say from behind him.

"Not yours, I don't." Stefan said as she walked towards him. He turned his head and smirked at her. She had an offended look on her face that just turned into a laugh. "I can't risk you burning anything."

"Come on, I'm not that bad." She pouted.

"Yes, you are." He laughed, and stopped chopping the vegetables, turning to her. "Do I need to remind you of the incident with the fries?"

"No, no, no, that was your fault remember?" He cocked an eyebrown at her, daring her to continue. She smiled an bit her lower lips, knowing he remembered what she was talking about. "Those fries would be totally fine if you stopped touching me," she blushed, finding the situation she put herself in kind of awkward. Stefan was looking at her, quite amused, though. She smiled. "And doing those things you used to do to me." She finished, more silently, like she was afraid someone could hear her. Maybe she was.

"I don't remember you saying no, so it's entirely your fault." They both started laughing at the memory of Elena almost burning her parents house down. Apparently that was all they did now, laugh.

After both had stopped laughing Stefan went back to chopping vegetables and Elena said on a chair across the kitchen counter. "So," Stefan started talking again, awkwardly. "What's Damon up to?"

"He's watching TV, I guess, why?" She asked, not quite sure where he wanted to get with this. They never talked abut Damon, for obvious reasons.

"You never spend time with me unless Damon's not available, so I was just wondering." He stated. She was glad he had his back to her, so be couldn't notice the blush on her cheeks.

"That's not true." She said, uncertain. Was it true? She didn't even know.

He looked over his shoulder quickly, frowning at her. "It's okay, Lena." He told her. "He's the one you're in the relationship with." He said, more silently, not even sure she had heard him.

"Stefan," She said his name warmly. "You're one of my closest friends, you know that." She said as she got up and walked to him, putting her hand on his arm. His deliciously strong arm. "I don't want you to feel like you're a second option, or a back up plan. Ever."

He smirked at her, emotionlessly. "I'm not even an option, Elena." He said as silently as before, though he knew she was close enough and could hear him now.

"What?" She asked, though she had heard him perfectly.

"Never mind." He said quickly, regretting saying anything in the first place. "Can you pass me that bowl, please?"

"Don't change the subject, Stefan." She said, trying to catch his attention.

"Do you think Caroline is on her way?" He asked, pretending not to hear her attempts to catch his attention. "It's she takes too long the food is gonna get cold and-"

"Stefan!" She said his name louder, forcing him to stop rambling and turn to face her. "Talk to me."

Stefan sighed, figuring he would have to talk to her about it now. He didn't even know exactly what he was supposed to say. It was true, right? He wasn't an option for her. He had never been, really. Probably. He didn't know, actually. He had been so angry with her for so long, but truth to be told, Elena didn't have any say in his choices. He left without contacting her. She didn't have the chance to fight for them, or explain what had happened. Not that he thought she would anyway. He was set on believing she didn't want to be with him, so he cleaned the way for her. For them.

So he didn't know if, at the end of the day, he had ever been an option for her.

But even if he was back then, even it he was her first option, he wasn't anymore. She's with Damon, and in those few weeks he tried to get used to that, and accept it, but there isn't really a way to deal with the fact that the life of your life is getting married to your brother, is there?

Stefan kept his head down, not wiling to lock eyes with her. She waited for him to break the silence. He thought about how unfair the position he is putting her is. He shouldn't have said anything, because he didn't like lying to her, and telling the truth would be like handing his heart to her once again, only for her to break it one more time. Willingly now.

As he tried to find the right words to handle the situation, the doorbell rang. Saved by the bell, isn't that what they say? Stefan walked out of the kitchen as Damon shouted from the living room "I got it", but Stefan pretended not to hear him, set on making the bell an excuse not to have that conversation with Elena a right now.

When he got to the living room he saw Rebekah sitting comfortably at the armchair across the sofa, an Nik focused on whatever game was going on tv. Damon got to the door, questioning himself why hadn't Caroline just made herself in, since she never knocked. He pushed the door open and there she was, behind it. Damon's jaw dropped in surprise. She had a smirk on her face, and was leaning agaisnt the doorframe as he stared at her, stunned. She was wearing high heels, and a tight, black dress. Her curly hair was a bit longer than he remembered it to be, but other than that, she looked pretty much the same. No, damn it! She looked hotter.

"Katherine?" Damon breathed out in a whisper.

Her smirk grew widder at the sight of him. "Did you miss me?"

**XXXXX**

**I so sorry it took me this long to update. I had a lot of school work to catch up on, so I couldn't write much. Anyway, I was planning on bringing Katherine into this story for a while and it was funny that you guys started asking me to bring her into this exactly when I was planning to. So, here she is. What did you guys think? And how do you think Damon is going to react to seeing her again?**

**As always, don't forget to leave a review (: **


	10. Chapter 10

"Katherine?" Damon breathed out in a whisper.

Her smirk grew wider at the sight of him. "Did you miss me?"

"What are you doing here?" He asked, shocked to see her.

"Now, now, Damon, where are your manners? Aren't you gonna invite me inside?" Katherine said, stepping foward, what leaved her dangerously close to him. He swallowed. When did it become so hot in the house? He stared at her seriously, hopless, maybe. "Aren't you happy to see me?" She asked with a smirk on her face.

"I'm not, no." He answered her, his tone not nearly as conving as he hoped it would be. _Damn her!_

"How come I don't believe you?" She asked, resting her hands on his chest, sending a wave of heat that spread all over his body, starting from the spot she was touching.

"Damon, who's that?" Damon heard Elena say from behind him just as she stepped into the living room after his brother. He turned around to look at her and now she could see the brunette in front of him. She gasped. "Oh, my God!"

"You need to go, Katherine. Now." Damon spoke after gathering courage for a moment. Again, his voice was not as firm as he hoped it would be.

"Actually," Stefan said, making Elena and Damon turn to him. "She's staying for dinner."

"God, just get in here already!" Rebekah said with her strong british accent, while throwing the magazine she was reading to the side.

Katherine stepped around Damon who made no effort to get out of her way. Her body brushed against his, and he was pretty sure she did it on purpose. _Damn her! _Damon's eyes were on her as she walked across the room, towards Stefan. She looked at Elena, noticing she had a dead angry and a little confused look on her face. Katherine smiled devilishly at Elena as she stopped in front of Stefan and give him a long kiss, dangerously close to his mouth. "Hey, Stef." She said before glancing at Elena one more time. Stefan figured making Damon jaelous was her way of doing things. And he didn't particularly like it. Not because he wouldn't want to be with Katherine in that way. If he it wasn't for Elena, he might even think about going there. Katherine is incredibly gorgeous and fun to be around, not to mention that behind all of those layers of makeup and self preservation there was a great girl. But that was not the point. He didn't like it because by doing that he would be doing to his brother the exact same thing Damon did to him. He couldn't hurt his brother like that, that wasn't who he was. He remembered Katherine saying how annying his morals are. He chuckled internally. They really are.

"Wait, Katherine?" Nik asked, moving his attention from the game to what was happening in the room.

"Hello, Niklaus." Katherine said, with a good impersonation of the way Elijah used to call his younger brother, making him and Rebekah laugh. She walked over to him and they greated each other with quick hug. Katherine hadn't really gotten along with him, she always liked Rebekah better.

"What's going on in here?" Caroline asked, making everyone turn their attention to her. They were all so focused on Katherine that they didn't even notice the blond coming in.

"Great," Stefan said, after Caroline had closed the door behind her. "Everyone's here, I'll go grab the food." He added, already turning around an walking to the kitchen, not know exactly how to handle the situation.

"What on Earth is your problem?" He heard Damon ask him as he openned the oven and pulled his lasagna out of it. It smelled delicious.

"What, don't you like lasagna?" Stefan asked, not turning to look at his brother.

"Don't play dumb with me, Stefan. Why did you ask _her_ to come here?" Damon said, avoiding speaking Katherine's name like if he said it out loud, her being back would become a fact, and not a product of his imagination. This was no imaginary world, though. "How did you even get in touch with her?" After Katherine went away Damon tried to contact her a thousand times, but she had made sure to cut all of the contact possibilities between the two of them. Eventually, he just gave up.

"Rebekah and I bumped into her at the store today, and we politely asked her to come, okay, relax." Stefan said, feeling worse each second. This was a bad idea.

"Is this about me stealing Elena from you? We're getting married, for God's sake, can't you accept that?" He said angrily, though Stefan could detect a hint of desperation in his tone. Damon was a hopeless case when it comes to Katherine. He was and will always be whipped. Just like Stefan was when it comes to Elena.

"No, I can't!" Stefan practicaly yelled at his brother, surprising both of them. It was the true, though. He would never accept that, no matter how hard he tried.

The Salvatore brothers kept staring at each other, neither of them knowing what to say next. They just stood there, and eventually someone walked through the door. "Do you guys need any help?" She asked, but got no answer. "Earth to Salvatores!" Elena said, stepping between them and breaking their gaze. "Do you guys need help?" She asked again.

"No, we're good." Stefan said finally, turning around and grabbing the lasagna and walking out of the kitchen.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked Damon, who still hadn't moved.

"Yeah, sure." Damon said a few moments later, snapping out of his trans.

When Elena and Damon got to the dinning room, the were already serving themselves. Caroline was talking nonstop about how the other 3 guests should get together more often if it meant that Stefan would make his special secret lasagna for them. Stefan only laughed at her, knowing full well that if she asked he you make it only for her, that's how good of a friend he is. He wouldn't let her know that, obviously.

"You gotta give me the recipe to this." Rebekah said with a half full mouth.

"Show some manners, little sister." Nik said, mocking his sister. She swallowed before sticking her tongue out in his direction.

To Stefan's surprise, they all engaged in a friendly, civilized conversation. Damon had been quiet all night, though, pretending not to be interested in anything that was being said, which Stefan knew was not true. Elena's participation was very contained as well, speaking only it was highly necessary. Probably to avoid any conflicts with Katherine, and most likely with Rebekah as well, since Stefan had no doubt in his mind that the blond would side with Katherine against Elena anytime. Caroline and Nik would annoy each other eventually, but nothing big, just their old habits. Stefan was really starting to think Caroline was coming to her senses and realizing Nik wasn't half as bad of a person as she made him out to be. She was even enjoying being on his presence, even if she wouldn't admit it to him or anyone.

They had finished dinner, and Katherine's behavior was impeccable. Well, as impeccable as it can be expected from her, which meant she either gave up on the idea Rebekah put inside her head, or she was planning a better plan of attack, and when Katherine Pierce put something in her mind, no one could take it out of there. Ever. So Stefan was starting to get worried.

Damon offered to go grab desert, needing a break. That pretending nothing had ever happened thing was extremely tiring. He wondered just how Stefan did it. Just after he left the room Katherine leaned back in her chair, more comfortably, and spoke up. "So, Elena," She said, catching Elena's attention. "Tell me," she had a devilish smile on her face and Stefan already knew what was coming next. "How was it that you managed to get Damon to forget all about me?" She asked finally. "You must have worked pretty hard."

"Katherine." Stefan said her name in a warning tone. One that had precisely zero effect on her.

Elena didn't look like she was surprised with Katherine's question, but angry. I mean, who wouldn't be? "Actually," Elena said, leaning over the table. They say body language says a lot right? She'd need that if she's going to go head to head with Katherine. "After all the shit you put him through I didn't have to do much."

"Come on, now, don't be so judgmental. It's not like you're any better." Katherine smirked at her.

"What you did to him was... disgusting." She said, not having found a better word to describe it. "I'm not like that!"

Katherine laughed out loud, the sound of her laugh cutting through Elena like a knife. "Aren't you?" She cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrown. "Don't be a hypocrite, Elena. What you did to Stefan wasn't that different." Katherine said, still coldly calm, while Elena looked like she could blow up at any minute now. "Wait, it was." She corrected herself. "You kept it in the family."

"That has nothing to do with you!" Elena raised her tone. "Stay out of it!" She ordered, getting frustrated with herself. This was exactly the effect Katherine wanted to have on her and she was making it so easy.

As Katherine was about to raise her voice again to speak, Damon got back with dessert in his hands. "What..." He started to speak but was interrupted by Caroline this time.

"We, um," She said, getting up from her seat. "We have this thing..." She walked to Damon, tapping on Nik's shoulder in the way, just as Rebekah stood up as well, taking the hint. "We should, just..." She grabbed the dish from his hands the three of them walked away as fast as they could, almost getting chuckles out of Katherine and Stefan, which was weird. The Stefan part, not Katherine. Elena glared at him and he lowered his head.

Katherine and Damon kept looking at each other, Elena was looking anywhere but at any of them, and Stefan was pretending to be imensily interested in his hands under the table.

Damon studied the features of Katherine's face. She was beautiful, stunning, breathtaking. He cleared his throat and they all turned to look at him. "Katherine, can we have a word?" He asked "Alone."

She smiled, faking a childish enthusiasm. She sent Elena a winning look and got up, walking towards him. When she got close enough, she raised her hand for him to grab and lead the way. Instead, he walked past her and her raised hand, leaving her standing there while he walked to his study. She looked surprised at first but a grin appeared on her face soon after. He wanted to be in control over the situation. She liked it. It was incredibly sexy. She walked to his study with "the Katherine walk" as Stefan remembered Elena saying back then. The swaying hips and confidence she put in taking a few steps; all the girls used to envy her. They probably still do.

After the door of the study closed, Stefan and Elena were left in an uncomfortable silence in the dinning room. Each on their side of the table, inspecting objects and imaginary bugs as an excuse not to have to interact with each other. More than a few minutes passed and Stefan decided it was already too awkward for him to handle, so he stood up just before she called his name. He looked at her quizzically, but she didn't say anything else, so he took a few steps towards the exit of the room.

"Stefan, wait." She called him again, making him turn around. "Why did you tell her?"

He didn't have to ask what was she talking about, obviously. He leaned against the wall and stared at her in the eyes. "I didn't know I couldn't." He stated. "I thought I was the one who wasn't supposed to know." Her expressing change, though Stefan couldn't identify to what, but she wasn't happy.

"It's not about telling someone," she told him, even if she didn't like the idea of anyone else knowing. What would they think of her? "It's about telling her. Why would you tell _her_?"

"She's my friend." He told her defensively. Sure, he hadn't seen her in a while. Well, more than a while, but then again, Katherine never gave him a reason not to trust her. He was well aware of how she was like, but he also knew her reasons to act the way she did. Many of them he wasn't even so sure Damon knew about. Truth is, when the two of them needed someone to talk back then, they would often find that in each other. Any time he knew something was up with her and Damon he would encourage her to talk about it with him, and after a while she looked for him instead of him asking her, and the same happened with him.

"Your friend? Katherine has no friends." Elena said, frustrated. "Look what she did to Damon, you can't trust her, Stefan!" She said, getting up from her seat.

"And who should I trust then?" He asked, not believing she would say such a thing. "Seems like the people I trust have a tendency of disappointing me, so I'm used to it, Lena, don't worry." He said more silently. At first Elena looked offended, but soon after she looked like she was going to burst into tears at any given moment.

Done with their conversation, Stefan turned to leave again, only to be stopped by her one last time. He wanted to walk upstairs and forget this, forget everything. Something made him stay and hear her out again, even knowing she was probably wrong one more time.

"You think she's right, don't you?" She asked, almost through a whisper. "That I'm just like her."

"No," he said instantly, not one bit of hesitation in his voice, and it made her feel a little better. The lack of hesitation meant that's what he truly thought about the matter. "I don't think she's right, quite the opposite, actually, but you don't know her or her reasons well enough to judge."

She lowered her head. Maybe he was right. "What were her reasons to hurt someone that way?"

"What were yours?" He asked her without thinking, regretting his words as soon as they slipped his tongue, but he couldn't help it. It was like the incident – as he now liked to call it – was always there, in the back of his mind, reminding him how easy it was for them to hurt him, even if they didn't mean to, and how he had given them, her specially, the power to do so.

Stefan knew his words probably sounded even more wrong to her, but he didn't find it in him to open his mouth and explain himself. Honestly, he didn't want to. He just wanted to go upstairs, get under the covers and only get up when this a night was over.

He tried to catch her look, but she wouldn't allow him to do so. Their silence felt like a rock over their chests, both aware of the fact that what happened had changed everything between them in such a permanent way that there was no way to fix it. There was just a obstacle, too heavy to be moved from the way, and too big to go around it. And there they stood, one in each side of it, trying to live their lives like there was nothing between then. It started getting bigger and they weren't even aware of it until it go so big that they couldn't ignore it anymore. In the back of his mind Stefan always knew that would happen sooner or later, but he chose to block that possibility. If he didn't think about it, maybe they could go ahead, make it work as friends, but they were clearly not living in the best case scenario.

"Sorry." He said silently, so silently that if she hadn't looked up at him, he would think she hadn't listened to him.

"Yeah." She said, with no reason in particular. She just didn't want to remain in silence with him like that, but no more efforts from her or him were necessary. They heard a click on the door and footsteps soon followed. Just as Elena turned around, Katherine walked back in with the biggest grin on her face. Damon followed her closely, and his expression showed he wasn't as pleased as her, but the fact that his features had softened since he saw her show up on his doorstep less than a couple hours before bothered her. Elena looked at Damon, expecting to say anything, but he didn't. He gave one of those looks that said "we'll talk later" and walked to her side, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. Something told Elena that was more for show than for the confort of being close to her, which was good, because she didn't feel like being close to him either right now. She allowed his arm to remain where it was, though. Katherine aproached Stefan, stopping just a few inches away from him, giving Elena the impression she was going to kiss him. Elena crossed her arms over her chest to stop herself from throwing them around her neck and strangling the girl. Katherine moved a little to the side and whispered something in his ear, and Elena released the breath she didn't even know she was holding. Stefan chuckled at something Katherine said and she stepped away from him slowly, making an invisible line with her pointing finger from one side to the other in his chest, smoothly, and it was extremely sexy.

"Are we still up for tomorrow, Stef?" Katherine asked, already halfway to the door. Stefan looked at her like he's about to say no, but Katherine cut him off as soon as he openned his mouth. "Did I mention 'no' is not an option?"

"I'll call you." He said, scratching the back of his neck where his hair ends.

"You do that." She winked at him, then took a long moment looking Damon over before turning around and walking towards the door again. "Nice seeing you, Elena." She yelled after she had already left their range of vision.

Stefan's expression lost the hint of a smile he had on while Katherine was in the room, adopting a serious one again and going upstairs without saying one more word. "Do I dare ask?" Damon asked, seeing how his brother's mood had changed completely. Elena shook her head no and started cleaning up the dinner table.

Stefan caught Rebekah and Caroline at the top of the stairs, where they couldn't see them from downstairs eavesdropping; each one with a spoon attacking the chocolate pie they didn't get the chance to eat downstairs. "Are you okay?" Caroline asked him, dropping her spoon in the dish.

"No." He said silently. He quickly grabbed the dish from his friends hands, confusing them. "But I'll be fine." He walked to his room and locked his door. Caroline and Rebekah awkwardly stood there for a moment.

"Did he just steal dessert from us?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah, I think he did." Rebekah answered, chuckling at her friends' behaviour.

xxxxx

Caroline went downstairs few minutes later, ready to leave, when she saw Elena sitting on the couch staring at something only she could see in front of her. "Is this seat taken?" The cheerful blond asked. Elena just smiled at her letting her know she could seat there. "Are you okay?" Caroline asked and Elena inspected her face closely, looking for any signs that Caroline heard what was being said between her and Stefan. "Because, you know, Stefan is locked in his room with a stolen chocolate pie."

Elena chuckled at her words and shook her head no. "I'm just thinking about some things. I'm okay."

"It's hard for him, Elena." Caroline said after a few moments, surprising Elena. "I think there's nothing he wants more than to be in good terms with you, but-"

"But Stefan is the most loyal person in the world and he just can't understand disloyalty." Elena completed Caroline's sentence for her.

Caroline shook her head. "No," she said with a warm smile. "But he is scared."

"Scared of what?" The brunett asked. "That I'll hurt him again?"

"That he'll allow you to." Caroline pulled Elena in for a hug. "I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

Elena nodded and watched as Caroline left the Salvatore mansion.

Then she just needs to prove to him that she won't.

Never again.

**XXXXXX**

**I would have updated yesterday but for some unknown reason wouldn't let me post the chapter. Anyway, what do you guys think about Katherine? I know I love her, haha. We'll get to see a lot more of Damon and Katherine's relationship on the next chapter. What about Stefan and Elena? Remember to leave your thoughts in the reviews.**

**And I really wanted to thank you for reading and reviewing, it makes me really happy that you guys are enjoying this story (:**


	11. Chapter 11

Damon sat quietly in his study all morning. He was supposed to take care of some paperwork Zach asked him to sign but every time he started reading those documents thoughts and memories of the night before distracted him. He was supposed to meet Katherine for lunch today at 1pm. He sighed. Still a half hour before he had to leave to meet her. He was glad Elena made lunch plans with Bonnie and Jeremy, because mentioning his lunch date would only drive her mad, and with good reason. His eyes scanned the papers in his hands one more time while he read, but again not comprehended the words that were down on it. "Screw it." He said lowly to himself before signing the papers and putting them in the drawer to his left. He rested his head back on the chair, allowing his mind to go back to the small conversation the had the night before.

_Katherine closed the door behind her and waited for Damon to speak first. He walked over to a little table next to the wall across from her and poured them a glass of bourbon. She took the glass from his hand and took one big sip from it, while he mirrored her movements. _

_"So?" She said, since he wasn't speaking. She was anxious, even though she was doing a very good job at hiding it. _

_"So you're back." He stated. "I thought you'd never come back to this place."_

_"I'm not back for good, darling." She said, her hands on her hips. "I'm staying a couple of weeks because Sarah is getting married."_

_"Who's Sarah?" Damon asked, making an effort to connect a face to the name with no success. _

_"My cousin." _

_"I didn't know you had a cousin." Damon said, confused. _

_"Neither did I." Katherine said simply, making Damon chuckle. Same old Katherine. Her face adopted a serious expression, making change his to match hers as well. "What are you doing with Elena?" She asked, suddenly changing the subject. _

_"I'm getting married." He said like she didn't already know that. _

_Katherine laughed slightly at him. "I know, silly, I'm asking why you're getting married to her. You'll get bored with her in a week. I'm surprised you haven't yet."_

_"Elena was quite the surprise for me. I bet getting bored with her will not be an issue." He stated, wondering how much of it he really meant. _

_"Bullshit." She said. "Come on, Damon, you and I both know Elena is as wild as a puppy. She's not for you, she's for Stefan."_

_"He sent you here, didn't he?" He asked, making her roll her eyes. _

_"Yeah, like Stefan would do that. He didn't even want me to come tonight to begin with." She told him, sitting down on his leather couch and taking another big sip of her drink, setting the now empty glass on the little table beside it. _

_"So why did you?" Damon asked, afraid of the answer. _

_"I can give you three reasons." She said before stopping herself with a smile._

_"By all means, go on." _

_"One: you, two: you and three," she made a pause, pulling a devilish smile across her face. "Stefan's food is pretty amazing."_

_Damon pursed his lips together hearing her say that. He couldn't fall for it, it was so like Katherine. She probably really wanted him. But not _him_, just to sleep with him. He sighed. "I'm moving on with my life, Katherine, I just want to make things work with Elena and..."_

_"I thought things were already working with Elena?" She stated, such satisfaction in her smile that he wanted to say something to wipe it away. _

_"Katherine, please." He begged her, instead. Damn her for making him so weak._

_"Lunch tomorrow. One o'clock." She said, leaning back on the couch._

_"I'm not having lunch with you!" He said, louder than he intended on, but it had no effect on her. If possible, her smirk only grew wider. She stood up from her seat all of a sudden and walked over to him, resting one of her hands on his chest. He smacked her hand away from him an looked right into her eyes. "I'm not gonna let you play me this time."_

_She was completely turned on by him now. She had left him because he couldn't stand up to her, he just couldn't. He did everything she wanted him to, at the time she wanted him to, and it was nice at first, but it got tiring with time. And boring. And Katherine Pierce didn't tolerate boring._

_It was all different now. He we different. And she liked it._

_"Do you really want to talk with Elena just outside this room? For all I know she could be glued to this wall listening to our every word." She told him, holding back her smile. He had been working out. He looks hotter than she remembered, if that's possible. "We can talk tomorrow, when you're calmer." She leaned in and planted a light kiss next to his mouth, like she had done to Stefan earlier. He felt a wave of shivers going through him, but did not let it show, surprising himself with his sudden self control. "Good night, Damon." She whispered in his ear before turning around and leaving the room. After the moment it took him to recompose himself, he followed her out of the room and back to the dinning room._

Damon grabbed his trademark leather jacket and his car keys before leaving the house. He could go for a drive around before meeting Katherine, just to clear his head. He really needed it.

xxxxx

Damon stepped into The Grill, looking for an empty booth at the crowded place for them to sit. It was 13:10, and Katherine was always half an hour late, meaning he was 20 minutes early. To his surprise, though, he saw her in a booth at the back, already waiting for him. He started walking in her direction and when she notice him coming, she smiled lightly, looking him over.

"You're late." She said after he sat down in a chair across from her.

"And you aren't." He stated with a smirk. "That's a first."

"Guess I was just really looking forward to seeing you today." She smirked as well. For anyone looking from the outside, it would seem like they were in a constant smirking contest, since that was all both of them ever did. A waiter came by to their table and Katherine ordered two whiskeys without even consulting Damon. He'd drink it.

"Isn't it a bit entirely too early for that much alcohol?" Damon asked after the waited left.

"Thought we could use it, don't you think?" She leaned back on her chair and crossed her legs under the table. "So?"

"So what?"

"I thought you'd have questions or something." She told him.

Damon hesitated for a long moment before looking up at her and opening his mouth to start talking, only to close it again. "I already know everything that I need to know."

"Do you, now?" She said, studying his face. "Why did you agree to come then?"

"Because I thought there might be something you'd want to tell me." He said seriously, looking inside her eyes. "Or ask." He added silently, more to himself than to her.

"You want me to ask you to leave Elena." Katherine stated, smiling. "I won't do that, Damon."

"Thought so." He was about to get up from his chair and head out when Katherine put her hand over his on the table, keeping him there. He looked down at their touching hands but she didn't move her look from his ice blue eyes.

"You won't leave her because I'm asking." She said, moving her hand away from him briefly, resting it besides his. "But you know there's no way you'll be happy with her."

"And why do you say that?" He asked tiredly.

"Because Stefan will never forgive you. And even if you have too much pride to admit that, you don't want to cause him more pain than you already have."

"Is that it?" He said, almost laughing at her to cover up the fact she was absolutely right. He knew Stefan wouldn't forgive him. He doubted his brother could even forgive that he slept with Elena in the first place. It was awful, what he did. But that's him. He screws up and pushes people away. This is Damon Salvatore.

Katherine smirked, putting her hand over his once again, intertwining their fingers this time. "I know you feel this too."

His face adopter a serious expression while a wave of shivers went through his body. "What exactly am I supposed to be feeling here?"

"Electricity. Magnetism." She told him, squeezing his hand in hers. "We're good together. We've always been."

"You mean our sex is good." Damon corrected her, pulling his hand away. "Because that's all we've ever been. Fuck buddies, right?"

"Do you really believe that?" Katherine asked, hidding her disappointment behind a serious face expression. "Do you really think I'd spend all of those years fighting and arguing with you if all I wanted was sex?" She leaned towards him, resting her elbows on the table. "Would I really go through all that trouble because you're good in bed? I don't think so."

"So when did you realize we weren't worth fighting for anymore?" He asked, mirroring her movements over the table, leaving them mere inches from one another. "When did you finally give up?"

"Does it look like I gave up?" He stared at her for a long moment, studying her features closely. He stood up suddenly, putting a bill on the table to pay for the drinks she had ordere. "Where are you going?" She asked. She thought she was getting throught to him.

"You want to have lunch? Let's have lunch." He told her, raising his hand for her to grab. When she finally did, with a smirk on her face, he added "I'm not risking falling for any game of yours, ever again. We'll do things on my terms or you can forget it."

"I can live with that." She said smiling, standing up and letting him lead her outside of The Grill. They got in his car and Damon started driving. Katherine didn't even bother asking where they were going to have lunch, or if they were really going. She was glad he wanted to be in control. Back then he used to let her boss him around. She had him wrapped around her finger. But this was new, exciting. She liked it. It was sexy.

xxxxx

"I don't know, Caroline." Stefan laughed at his friend. "Go ask him yourself."

"I can't ask him that!" Caroline protested, her mind set on convincing him to do whatever she wanted.

"Then go ask Rebekah." He suggested, knowing she had to stop asking him, otherwise he'd tell her.

"He wouldn't tell Rebekah, he'd only tell you!" Caroline sighed defeated. She had been trying to get Stefan to talk about what Nik was planning for a date she had finally agreed on going with him. "Just to prove a point," we're her exact words when accepting it. No one knew what that point was, and they couldn't care less. She just didn't want to admit she was giving in to his advances. They were at this for half an hour already, and no sign that he would give any information up. "How am I supposed to know what to wear?" She said frustrated, throwing herself in her bed.

"I'm sure pretty underwear will cover it." Stefan said as Caroline instantly sat up and threw a pillow at him. He chuckled and he couldn't help but laugh a little as well. "You look happy." He observed.

"I am," she told him quietly.

"But? I'm sensing a 'but' there." Stefan said, coming to sit beside her on her bed. She shrugged and he put his hand on her shoulder. "He'll commit, Care." He told her, making her look up at him. "Don't think for a second that he doesn't care about you. He just doesn't know how to do all this relationship thing."

"Well, then he better learn how to." She said, forcing herself to smile and get all cheered up as she usually is. "And fast!" She laughed. "What about you, Romeo?"

"What about me?" He asked, playing dumb.

"I made you listen to my love life problems all morning. Your turn now." She smiled encouragingly at him.

"Hmm," he pretended to think about it for a moment before shrugging. "Don't think so."

"Come on," Caroline pleaded, prolonging the words for way longer than it was necessary.

"There nothing to talk about, really." Stefan told her. "Elena is still with Damon and I'm still..." He stopped for a moment before continuing. "And I'm still trying to accept the fact that she really is going to marry him."

Caroline put her hand on his knee as a sign of support and he smiled at her, and as much as she hated to admit it, it looked pretty said. "Did you give up on that being friends idea?" She asked.

He nodded his head and sighed. "I can't force myself to have to see anymore of her with my brother than I already do just by living in that house. I'm not that much of a masochist." Stefan raised his head to meet her look after a moment. "You don't look so pleased to hear that." He commented.

She sighed. "I was hoping you'd sweep her off her feet and get this stupid Damon idea out of her head."

"Life is not a chick flick, Caroline." He told her, amused with her emotional investment in his love life.

"Yeah, and Prince Charmings do not exist, yet here you are." She said, getting a laugh out of him.

"You're the best, you know that?" He told her, happy to have her by his side.

He can't imagine his life without Caroline, Rebekah and Nik. Caroline is that one friend that will cheer you up, no matter how bad you're hurt. Rebekah is the honest friend. She'll say everything that comes to her mind, it doesn't matter if it stings a little. Sometimes you need that. Someone telling you the truth, even if it's harsh. And Nik, well, Nik is a guy, and there are stuff a guy cannot talk to girls about. So Stefan likes to think he doesn't have one best friend. They come in a package.

"I do!" Caroline agreed excitedly, getting more laughter out of him.

xxxxx

"Remind me again why isn't Caroline going to join us?" Bonnie asked, throwing another one of those crappy and fattening chips in Jeremy's direction as he jumped with his hands on his back, trying to catch it with his mouth, but failling miserably for the thousandth time, cursing under his breath.

"She's hanging with her new besties," Elena said as she angrily applied nail polish in her toe nails. "Seeing as how she forgot about her old ones." She added, a little more silently.

"Come on, don't be bitter!" Bonnie said, getting a handful of chips and throwing all of them at once in Jeremy's direction. He was able to get one or two this time, but the rest of them fell all over his face and shirt, one in particular hit him right in the eye; when he felt the salty chip in his eye he released a loud "ouch" making Elena roll her eyes while Bonnie laughed at her boyfriend.

"I hope these new friends of hers love The Notebook and Caroline doesn't feel the need to make us watch it ever again." Jeremy said. Caroline always managed to convince his sister and girlfriend to watch that movie and, at one point in their relationship, Bonnie decided he would have to watch it with them. That's happened over 6 times now. He couldn't take another one.

"I highly doubt Rebekah will put up with The notebook. Nik would do anything to get inside her pants, though." Elena said, knowing that Stefan would probably watch it with her willingly, just for her to have someone's shoulder to cry on, but she didn't want to bring Stefan up right now.

"Tell me again about this Nik person." Bonnie asked.

"I don't know much about him. When I'm around he is either hanging with Stefan or with Rebekah and Caroline." Elena told her friend, mentioning the green eyed greek God even not wanting to. She thought if there was really something she could tell Bonnie about Nik, but she couldn't think of anything.

"And Caroline is really into him?"

"I don't even know." Elena sighed. "To be honest, I haven't really talked to her since those two got here." Elena looked at her feet, trying to figure out of was she satisfied with her work or not. "Stefan thinks tell be together in no time, though, so I figure he must know what he's talking about."

Jeremy got bored with their conversation, excused himself, gave Bonnie a peck on the lips and went upstairs to play video games. When he was out of sight upstairs, Bonnie spoke. "Talking about Stefan..."

"What about him?" Elena asked, playing dumb. Bonnie only noticed it because Elena answered way too quickly.

"How are things between you two?" Bonnie moved from the couch to sit in front of Elena on the floor. Her friend had now her full attention and Elena knew that. She couldn't avoid the subject.

"I don't know." Elena confessed. "Katherine, Damon's ex, you remember her?" Bonnie nodded. "So, she showed up at the boarding house last night and she said some things to me and..." She trailed off, telling Bonnie all about dinner the night before. When she finished Bonnie smiled sympathetically at her.

"Elena," Bonnie started, not sure how to say things, since she had no idea how her friend would react. "Do you still feel something for Stefan?"

"Or course I feel something for Stefan!" Elena answered quickly.

Bonnie eyed her, wondering if that was her way of not truly answering the question, or if she was just in denial. "I know. What I mean is: do you still _love_ Stefan?" Elena openned her mouth to respond but before she had the chance to say anything Bonnie cut her off. "Love as in being in love with."

Elena lowered her head as she thought about a suitable answer. Did she love Stefan? Yes. Was she in love with Stefan? She doesn't know. To be honest, right now if anyone asked if she was in love with Damon, she probably wouldn't be able to answer as well. She felt horrible for even thinking about that. She had commitet to Damon, to get married to him, to spend the rest of her life with him, and here she was, torn between these two men. Two brothers. She couldn't pick one, or better yet, her _heart_ couldn't. Her mind could totally point to one of them, that one being Damon. She promissed herself to him, it was the right thing to do. But since she saw Stefan that day at the cemitery she couldn't shake the feeling that that's what had been missing, the hole she felt inside of her had been filled up again. She didn't need him, she could live without him. She had for three years, haven't she? No. She couldn't _live _without him. She could only _survive_ without him.

"Elena?" Bonnie called her name, bringing her back to the house and out of her own world.

"I think I am." She said silently, barely being able to hear herself. "In love with him." She said as silently, raising her look to meet Bonnie's. "I think I love him."

**XXXXX**

**Elena and her endless indecision concerning men. So, what did you guys think about this chapter. No Stefan and Elena interactions, but I feel like this was necessary. What about Damon and Katherine? What did you think? Thanks for all the views and reviews ;) I love you all!**


	12. Chapter 12

Elena sighed. She had been looking for something to wear for almost two hours and couldn't find a combination she liked. After her confession the day before, Bonnie insisted that she went out for a bit. Have some fun, clear her head. Bonnie was worried about her and her confusion concerning her feelings. Elena herself was worried as well, knowing that someone would get hurt in the end, though she truly did not know who would that be, since she had no idea what was she going to do about it.

"Wear the black dress with the cream jacket." Elena heard her brother say. She turned around and found him leaning against her doorframe. She took the two pieces of clothing he suggested and put in front of her body, looking herself in the mirror. It actually looked really good.

"How come you chose this?" Elena asked her brother in disbelief.

"I didn't." Jeremy laughed. "Bonnie called. She said you'd probably still be trying to find an outfit so she told me to suggest that." He said, pointing to the outfit she had in her hands.

Elena smiled at her friend knowing her so well. "I'll be ready in half an hour." She told him and without saying anything else, he left. She texted Damon telling him she was just about ready. By the time he got there she would be. Elena slipped inside the black dress Bonnie had chosen for her, and applied minimum make up on her face. She was working on her hair when Bonnie arrived, and Damon got there soon after.

Half an hour later they were walking in a nightclub that had openned quite recently, ready to have some fun. Damon and Jeremy made their way to the bar, needing a drink if they were going to do all this dancing thing. The girls were left behind to check the place out. The first story was very crowded, so they decided to stay on the second one.

They made their way upstairs and just after they finished going up the stairs someone bumped right into Elena, making her lose her balance. She had to hold onto Bonnie not to go falling down the stairs.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you." Elena heard a strong British accent apologizing to her. She raised her head and looked at the blond girl with shots in her hands.

"It's fine, Rebekah." Elena said after recognizing the girl. The lights were doing that weird effect that makes you feel all dizzy, giving you the impression of seeing a sequence of images, instead of a full 'video'. Rebekah took a few more seconds to recognize Elena, and the brunette wondered if it was because of the confusing lights or the fact that she was probably buzzed.

"Elena!" She said, like she was disappointed in Elena for being there.

"This is my friend, Bonnie." Elena introduced them, pretending that meeting Rebekah wasn't a total inconvenience. "Bonnie, this is Caroline's friend, Rebekah."

"Bonnie!" Rebekah said excitedly. "Caroline told me lots about you." she giggled, proving Elena's point. She was more than buzzed.

"Oh, is that right?" Bonnie said, not so sure how to interact with the blond in front of her. Was she supposed to hate her because Elena did, or like her because Caroline did? What was the best friend duty in this situation? There had to be something on the girl friend's code for that.

"Yup. It's okay, I know you haven't heard about me." She said with another giggle. "Anyway, I should get this to Katherine before I drink hers too." She told them, raising the shot in her hands just a little bit for them to see it. She waved a quick goodbye and left them.

"Oh, great, of course Katherine's here, just what I needed!" Elena complained. Bonnie chuckled, putting a hand on her shoulder and continuing to walk around the place. About 10 minutes later, Damon and Jeremy were able to find them, each with a glass in their hands, and Elena was able to forget about the undesirable presences there and have a little fun.

"I almost drank yours." Rebekah said when she caught up with the group, handing the little glass to Katherine. The brunette only shrugged, seeing as how the music downstairs was too loud for her to shout and make herself heard.

"We should go upstairs." She told Stefan who didn't seem to listen to her, but understood what she meant by her head movement pointing upstairs. He took Rebekah by her hand and brought her with them. Tired of dancing, they chose a table in a corner to sit for a while.

"Who is that?" Rebekah asked Stefan, discreetly pointing towards a couple of guys on the other side of them room, still deciding who was hotter.

"Caroline's ex." Stetan said, chuckling.

"Which one?" She asked, figuring she'd have to take the other one.

"Both." He answered, laughing at her disapproving expression. "Which one did you have your eyes on?"

"The blond one." She said after sighing, not taking her eyes of the guys, who were looking at her now.

"Im sure she won't mind, it was ages ago. They're good friends now." Stefan said, taking a sip of his drink. "His name's Matt. We used to play football together."

"Great," she grinned. "Then you can introduce us."

"He's coming here." Katherine observed.

"How do I look?" Rebekah asked, faking nervousness. The alcohol was definitely making an effect on her. Stefan smiled, letting her know she looked great.

"Hey, man! How's it going? I haven't seen you in a while." Matt said a couple seconds later, directing his words to Stefan and keeping an eye at Rebekah.

"I'm great, man. It really has been a while." Stefan said, making small talk. "Oh, you remember Katherine, right?" Matt greeted her quickly, appearing to be in a hurry for Stefan to introduce him and the blond. "And this is my friend, Rebekah."

Matt took Rebekah's hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing it lightly. "It's very nice meeting you, Rebekah." He said, making her giggle a bit. Damn that alcohol! "Can I get you a drink?" Matt asked, kinda nervous, and Stefan knew it was because Matt was not the guys to find someone in a nightclub and I instantly hit it off with them. Rebekah caught his attention, though, and that had to be a good thing. They excused themselves to go and get drinks and Stefan was left with only Katherine. Nik and Caroline didn't come with them, since they had that mysterious date of theirs.

Stefan scanned the place while talking to Katherine. She was basically doing all the talking, and he just sat there, listening and asking occasional questions to keep the conversation going. That's what he did best: listening. Caroline says that he must be a saint for listening to all of their problems and never complaining about having to put up with her. Truth is: he likes to listen, because sometimes all people need is someone to listen to them. They don't necessarily need the other person to say anything, they just want to get it out of their chests. So he likes to help them. He takes pleasure in helping people. He wanted to be a doctor, as a child, but as he grew older he knew there was no way he could do it. Because doctors help people when they need the most, but there's only so much one can do, and sometimes it's not enough. He would feel so guilty if he was responsible for losing a life, even if there was nothing he could have done to save it, so he gave up on that idea.

His thoughts and conversation were interrupted suddenly when he saw her on the other side of the dancer floor, dancing with Damon. She had her arms wrapped around his neck, and his were holding her by her waist. In a quick movement, Damon twirled her and pulled her against him again. She looked beautiful in a black dress that barely reached her knees. Stefan stood up all of a sudden, surprising Katherine and himself. He couldn't remember telling his body to do that.

"I need a drink, do you want something?" Katherine shook her head and he started walking in the direction of the bar.

"What's it gonna be?" The bartender asked him.

"The strongest you have." Stefan said and the guy quickly came back with a bottle and a glass, filling it and putting the bottle away. Stefan drank it at once, not bothering to try and figure out what it was. As soon as he felt the burning feeling of the alcohol on his throat, he hit the table lightly with the empty glass, calling the bartender's attention, and letting him know he wanted another one. He turned around on his seat and watched his brother dance with Elena. She seemed so carefree and alive. So... Happy. Did he want her to be sad and gloomy? No. So why did he expect she would be? Why did he expect her to be feeling the same way he was, when she had given him proof that she didn't feel about him the same way he felt about her? Because love has a habit of messing with our heads. It finds it's way to our hearts and makes its home there. And because it's home, it feels safe and guarded, and in order to remain that way, love builts walls to protect himself from harm. Walls of hope. It doesn't matter if those walls crumble; as long as there's still one brick standing on his own, you'll have hope. You tell yourself that little brick won't stop the harm that comes your way, and maybe it really won't, but as long as its there, you have that tiny bit of doubt if it will or not. As longs as you love, you have hope that there's a minimum, but existing chance that it's not in vain. And that's what keeps you from moving on. One brick a few inches above the floor.

He was already on his fifth drink when Katherine came and sat beside him, ordering the same as he had.

"God, you must really depressed." Katherine said after feeling the burning feeling of the drink in her throat, like Stefan. It was strong, and she was sure her drinking limit was way higher than Stefan's, seeing as how she went out to drink more often. But then again, Stefan grew up with Damon. He was probably as used to having alcohol on his system as she was.

"There's no way I can endure an entire night of this without the alcohol." He said, looking around for the bartender once again, but he was taking someone's order on the other side of the bar. "You should have another one."

"Why don't you do something instead of sitting and torturing yourself?" Katherine said, annoyed with him. When he didn't say anything she stood up and spoke again. "Come on," She put one hand over his. "Let's dance."

"I hate dancing." She rolled her eyes as he put a bill on the counter, then pulled him by the hand and into the dance floor anyway.

"Not tonight, you don't." Katherine threw her arms around Stefan's neck, and started dancing to a song Stefan did not recognize. Their bodies were close, scrapping against each others's. He started moving as well, knowing the alcohol was the single reason why he was allowing himself to dance with her. They stabilished a matching rhythm. Katherine really knew how to put on a show, but he doubted it would make any difference. Damon wasn't even aware of their presence there, so there was no point in trying to make him jaelous. A few songs went on, as they continued to move. That's when Stefan felt Katherine's left hand pull him closer by his neck, as she ran her right one through the hair on the back of his head. She brought her body closer to his; so close that if his heart had skipped a beat, she would have been able to feel it. It didn't, though. He knew what was coming next, but couldn't bring himself to stop her now. He figured that if there was ever a time that's okay to do something as stupid as they were about to do, well, this was it. He tried to block the voice inside his head; the one desperately telling him this was a bad idea, and he mentaly thanked himself for that fifth drink that was making it a whole lot easier. He could feel her breath on his skin. He closed his eyes and waited for her lips to come crashing down on his.

But they didn't.

Instead, he felt himself being pushed back. He openned his eyes, confused. That's when he saw Elena beside him; shock printed all over her face. He couldn't really tell if it was shock, maybe she was disgusted with him. Her expression soon turned into something else: anger.

"Excuse you." Elena heard Katherine say.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"We're dancing, Elena," Katherine said. "Can you go ruin someone else's night now?"

"Stefan hates dancing!" Elena answered, feeling angrier every second she had to spend looking and talking to Katherine.

"No, I don't." Stefan lied, repeating Katherine's earlier words. He felt his own anger builting as well. She looked at him in disbelief, and Katherine's voice made her turn her look back.

"Maybe he just hates to dance with you." She smirked. "Now, if you excuse us..."

"Stefan!"

"God, Elena, just leave us alone!" He snapped at her, surprising the three of them. She looked at him speechless for a moment, not being able to believe he would talk to her like that. He didn't believe it himself.

"Are you drunk?" Elena asked. Being able to smell the alcohol in his breath now,and knowing that was probably the most suitable explanation for his change in behavior. She looked over at Katherine who was rolling her eyes in annoyance, even though Elena knew she was enjoying this.

"That is none of your business." He said, harshly. Elena openned her mouth again to say something, but before she could, he cut her off. "Why don't you go back to my brother, huh?"

"No, I'm getting you home, come on." She said, grabbing his arm as he pulled it back in a quick movement, startling her. "What did you say to him?" She asked Katherine, figuring out she must have been involved in whatever it was that had gotten Stefan to act so harshly towards her.

"Don't blame me, it was all you." Katherine said and Stefan eyed her.

"Is everything okay?" Damon directed his question to Stefan after joining them, putting his arm around Elena's waist for Katherine to see it. He did it as a reflex, and when he saw the look on his brothers face he realized he shouldn't have done it.

"Yeah, it's fine." Stefan said before Damon could pull his arm away, walking past them in a hurry.

Elena stood there, confused and unsure of what to do. "What are you waiting for?" Damon asked her, confusing her even more. "Go after him." He ordered. She turned around without thinking twice, looking around for any sign of Stefan. She finally spotted him on the exit of the club, and quickly went down the stairs and out of the main door.

Stefan felt the cold air hit him as he stepped out of the club. His body was operating on automatic mode now, walking past the big group of people who were still wating in the line to go inside. He heard Elena call his name a few seconds later, but he didn't stop walking. She called his name again and he could hear her footsteps getting closer. He didn't want to stop. He didn't want to face her. He just wanted to keep walking until he was far away from her, from his brother, from this city. He wanted to walk away because feeling empty was better than being constantly hurt.

He forced his legs to stop moving, though, but didn't turn around.

"Stefan," she said his name, catching her breath after running after him.

"Elena, please, go back inside." He asked, tiredly, running his hands through his hair.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is wrong." She said firmly.

Stefan turned around; disbelief printed on his face. She stared right into his eyes. Eyes that were showing so much emotion, so much sadness, that it made her want to hug him forever and make him believe it was okay. That it was going to be okay. "Are you serious?" He asked, not moving his look away from hers. He never planned on having this conversation with her, and had he been sober, it probably would've never happened. "Are you really that blind or do you just pretend to be?"

His behavior was confusing her more and more each second. Mostly because she wasn't used to him talking to her that way, and that was only agravated by the alcohol. She wanted to believe that was the only reason why he was acting like that, but don't they say "Drunk man's word is the sober mans thoughts"? Elena took a step closer to him in an attempt of softening him, but he took a step back, keeping his distance from her. That only frustrated her more. "I have no freaking idea what you're talking about!" She said, almost yelling, angry at him. "So please, enlighten me." She said, crossing her arms over her chest. Stefan stared at her, right in the eyes, for a few more seconds, before throwing his hands in the air and turning around. She saw him sigh and shook his head, before starting to walk away from her again. "Stefan, I'm talking to you!" Elena yelled now, and a few people passing by eyed her. She ignored them and followed Stefan. "Damn it, Stefan! Why do you have to act like this?"

"Because I love you!" He yelled. She had barely been able to finish her sentence before he abruptly turned around and took a couple steps towards her, dropping this bomb over her head. She froze imediately upon hearing his words. They stood face to face, which was only possible due to the high heels she was wearing. Elena could feel Stefan's eratic breath on her skin, and for the first time, it felt strange having him so close. Not because she felt unconfortable with him, but she felt unconfortable with herself. The pain she could see in his eyes, his beautiful grass green eyes... She was the one who had caused it. "I love you." He repeated helplessly and more silently, like he wanted her, and only her, to hear it. Elena could feel tears grouping in her eyes and before she could think about blinking them back, they were already rolling down her checks. "I've never stopped loving you and it hurts me." He confessed. "It physically hurts me, but I can't help it. I can't stop loving you."

Elena covered her mouth with her hands. This was not happening. This couldn't be happening. She wanted to say something, but nothing came to her mind. Even if she knew what to say she doubted she could find it in her to open her mouth.

Stefan observed her reaction in silence, but couldn't tell what she was feeling. Hell, he couldn't even describe his own feelings right now.

Elena watched as Stefan pressed his lips together and closed his eyes for a brief second before he turned around once again and walked away. She let him this time. She had lost her ability to speak to call his name, or the control over her body to go after him. She just stood there with tears rolling down her face as she watched him walk away from her. "I love you too." She whispered to herself when he could no longer hear her.

**XXXXX**

**Things are definitely starting to get interesting. Don't forget to review and let me know what did you think ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

Stefan went straight home that night. He knew he shouldn't be driving due to all the alcohol but he did it anyway. No one was home and all he could hear was the sound of the night outside. Owls and a little wind. Elena loved the sound of the night. God! Wasn't all that drinking supposed to make him stop thinking about her? Why can't he just stop thinking about her! He sat in his bed, too tired to do anything else, and too aggravated to sleep. It must have been an hour later, or so he thought, when he heard someone come in the house. It couldn't be Nik, because there was no way he was coming home tonight. He remembers when him and Caroline were together, they couldn't keep their hands away from each other. It was either Rebekah or his brother. He listened carefully to the person's footsteps. They stopped at the door of his bedroom for a minute, but turned around and walked to the end of the hall. Damon. Did his brother plan on coming to say something to him? He shrugged the idea.

Tired of feeling sorry for himself, Stefan took a long, heated shower to calm his nerves down and jumped into bed, praying to god that his hangover the next day didn't make him feel worse than he already felt.

xxxxx

_The sun was peeking through his curtains and finally reaching the bed they were laying on. They had been in that position for quite a while now. Her head was laying on his left arm, while his right arm was holding her secure against him. They haven't said a word in a while as well. They had a week full of exams and both had been dedicating themselves pretty hard, leaving barely no free time to spend with each other. It was good to just be there, with her, for a while. __All they needed right now was to be close to each other like that. No, actually, they always needed to be close to each other. In every waking moment they would be thinking about each other, and when they went to sleep, the other would make a quick visit in their dreams, reminding them there was no life when she wasn't there with him, and when he wasn't there with her._ That's when he knew it. He could do this for the rest of his life. Hold her. Be close to her. Love her.

_"Elena," he called her name silently and she almost did not hear him._

_"Yes?" She asked, not moving one bit. When he didn't say anything, she turned around with a warm smile on her face._

_"I love you." He whispered to her. Her face instantly changed, but he couldn't tell to what. He soon regretted saying it to her, it could ruin everything. Did it? Was he going too fast?_

_Her face turned into a smile, and his heart warmed. She wasn't freaked out. She was happy. She brought her lips closer to his a left a gentle kiss on them. "I love you too." She whispered against his lips and he could feel the smile they were turning into. He smiled as well._

_She loves him._

_He pulled her closer to himself, if that was even possible. She giggled and tried to free herself from him, but failed. "Can't run away now." He said seductively, even though Elena was pretty sure that was not his intention. He leaned in and kissed her. The kiss was a lot more passionate then the one just a few seconds before. Somehow Elena ended up under him, his body pressing her further down on the mattress. His hands roamed all over her body, feeling every part of exposed skin, and even some not-that-exposed parts. Nothing too forward, though. Stefan respected her and knew they were not ready for such a big step on their relationship yet. They continued making out for a few more minutes, before Stefan pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. __"I love you. So. Freaking. Much." Stefan told her again. _

_"Yeah?"_

_"Yeah." Stefan smiled at her and pulled her back to himself, making them both comfortable in the position they were before. _

_"Stefan?" She asked his name uncertain, like she was afraid of asking something. He didn't say anything, but she knew he was listening. "Never leave me." She asked. _

_"Never." Stefan promised, leaving a light kiss on her neck. "I plan on loving you for a very, very long time."_

xxxxx

Dear Diary,

It's been a while since I last wrote. I didn't feel the need to. Truth is, since he came back to my life I knew I would have someone to talk to. I didn't need to put my feelings down on a paper. He would understand me. But I lost this; I lost him. I have been so focused on myself, my grieving, my feelings, my need to be close to him, that I didn't once stop to think about his feelings.

I ended up breaking his heart once again, and the worst part is: I know I can't fix it. There's even that one song that says you never really can fix a heart, right? Well, yes, you can't, I can't. But I need to do something, because I can't stand the idea of him hating me, being angry with me. I don't deserve any forgiveness, but I so desperately need it. I need him. I love this man. I know what I feel now. And I know what I have to do. All the pain I've caused him by being with his brother, I can't take it away. But I can make it stop. I can try and make it stop.

I love Stefan with my entire heart and soul. I always have and always will.

Love, Elena.

Elena rested the pen on her desk and went to put her diary away. How ironic, where she kept it. All of her feelings stored behind the most significant gift she has ever gotten from anyone. The one he gave her.

Elena forced herself to stop thinking about this for a moment. She needed to get ready. She wouldn't let things go this time.

Elena pulled of at the Salvatore mansion driveway an hour later. She noticed her hands was shaking a little, giving her nervousness away. She stepped out of the car and walked to the door, getting in without knocking as she had done countless times before. Noticing Damon on the couch, she crossed the room.

Damon looked up at her when he heard her footsteps coming closer and smiled slightly, reaching for her hand when she got close enough. She took his hand and he squeezed hers. He closed the book on his lap and looked at her expectantly. She felt bad for not being there to see him. His fingers touched the rock on her ring. "It really is the same color of his eyes." He said like she was supposed to know what he was talking about. Which she did because Stefan had told her the story, but Damon didn't know that. Or maybe he said it more to himself than to her, she didn't know. "I haven't seen him all day. He's been up in his room since I woke up." He nodded slightly and smiled again, letting her know she should go see him. She would kill to know what was going through Damon's mind right now. Why he told her to go after his brother yesterday, and why again now. But she would have to ask him another time.

She made her ways upstairs and knocked on Stefan's door.

Nothing.

She knocked again and no response came from that. She pushed the door a little, but he wasn't on her range of view, so she pushed the door wide open.

He wasn't there.

Panic started to wash over her face. He's not gone, he can't be gone again. "Stefan?" She spoke for the first time since coming inside the house. No answer. "Damon!" She called, beginning to feel aggravated.

Damon came running through the door a few seconds later, having heard he call his name. "What? What's wrong?" He asked quickly, scared something was terribly wrong by the way she yelled for him.

"He's not here, are you sure he didn't leave the house? Didn't he say anything to you or–"

"God, Elena, you scared me!" He said, feeling his quickened heartbeat start to slow down.

"Do you think he's– maybe he's gone back to New York." She said, almost crying.

"His car is out there, Elena. Calm down okay?" He was terrible at calming people down, but he did the best he could, because he was sure it was nothing. "He probably went out for a walk. You know how he gets when he's brooding, I'm sure he's fine."

He seamed to get through to her, since her erratic breathing was slowing down. "Yeah, he must be with Caroline." She said, and he new she was trying to convince herself that her wasn't gone.

"Yes." Damon agreed with her, only to make her feel better. He knew his brother and he liked to have his space when he was upset about somethine, and even though he didn't know exactly what had happened between Elena and Stefan the night before, by the they were acting, it must have been pretty serious.

"I think I'll go look for him." Elena said, after a minute of silence. She walked out of Stefan's room, but stopped when Damon called her name. Her body was stiff, telling him she knew what he was going to say to her. "Yes?"

"I think we need to talk." He said, emotionlessly, a little too much for Elena's taste, but she knew it must be hard for him, so she let it go. She sat besides him on Stefan's bed, preparing herself for whatever was about to come.

xxxxx

Elena looked everywhere for him after leaving the boarding house. Her conversation with Damon had taken longer than she had expected it to, and the sun was already about to set. She checked Caroline's house, The Grill, the town square, even that one hot dog stand at the edge of town that he used to like, but there was no sign of him. She texted Damon, asking if he had heard from his brother, but he was as left in the dark as she was. She was about to give up and go home when she remembered one spot in town she hadn't checked. She was surprised she didn't think of it sooner. It had always been his favorite spot to hang out when he needed time to himself, and after he left, it became hers too. He had even found her hiding out there after her parents died. How could she not have remembered?

It took her about 20 minutes to get there, and when she made the last right turn, she could see him sitting there, watching the sunset. She watched him a little, but not too long, since he already knew she was there, even though he didn't acknowledged her.

Elena sat besides him but remained quiet for several minutes. She wanted him to say something first, because she had spent so much time and energy looking for him that she didn't exactly know what to say to him. She knew what she wanted to say, she just didn't know how to. Stefan remained silent, looking ahead. She might as well not be there, since he had given no sign that he saw her.

"You're mad at me." Elena stated, but it could as well be a question.

"I'm not." He answered without looking at her.

"Stefan..." She started again after a few more minutes, but he interrupted her.

"Look, Elena," He turned to her. "You don't owe me anything. There's no need to–"

"Yes, there is." She cut him off. "Stefan, I'm so, so, so sorry." She said as he turned back to the sky. "I didn't– We never meant to hurt you. You have to understand. You were... gone, and I know it was our fault but we didn't know that. I thought you left me."

"I know." He said simply, shutting her up. "I don't blame you. Like I said, you don't owe me anything." He said, stone cold. And it hurt a little, that he was talking to her like that. _I brought it on myself_, she thought.

"Would you have told me if you weren't that drunk?" She asked, after a while.

"No," he answered without hesitation. He noticed her lowering her head, and he felt the need to explain himself. "It's not that I didn't want you to know, on the contrary, actually," he chuckled coldly and she raised her head, meeting his look with hers. "I think it was pretty obvious, how I feel." He stated, moving his look away from hers, after holding it for a few moments. "There was no point in saying it to you, though."

"Of course there was!" She told him, her voice almost sounded offended. It hurt knowing that he thinks his feelings mean so little to her. That there was no point in telling her he loves her, because she would not care, when in reality, she does not care about anything more than that. Than him. "It would change everything." She told him, but he didn't lift his look up to meet hers this time, almost like he didn't believe her and was afraid of looking at her and knowing that she was, indeed, lying. Something inside her chest dropped, making her feel like her heart had just left its place, and went somewhere far away, where it wouldn't hurt so much. "It has already changed everything." She said more silently.

He didn't respond her, not knowing what to say. In all honesty, the situation they were in was so uncomfortable and unknown that he didn't know how to behave. Silence fell upon them once again, and the night now had completely set in, not allowing them to see each others features in the dark. He noticed Elena was staring at the star filled sky, caressing the full moon with her look. He took his time to stare at her, half lit by the moon light, the other half completely in the dark. She held her legs between her arms; her hands resting at her knees. He noticed her long thin fingers. She could be a pianist with those agile long fingers, he was sure.

Suddenly his breath caught in his throat. "Where's your ring?" He asked, looking around on the grass for any signs of the green rock, but he could see nothing in that light.

"I gave it back to Damon." She told him simply.

"What?" She just looked at him, her look telling him that he understood her very well. "Why?"

"Because I have screwed up for so long... I need to make this right somehow." She told him, and could see his shocked expression embraced by the darkness.

"No." He said, quickly, guilt watching over his face.

Elena looked at him like he's out of his mind. What the hell did he mean by that? "No?" She asked, hoping he would end her confusion. She was sure she had heard him wrong.

"You're not going to end you engagement because of me." He said seriously. More seriously than Elena had ever seen him. "I won't let you give up your happiness with my brother because of my ridiculous incapacity of moving on, Elena."

Elena wanted to tape his mouth so he wouldn't be able to say anything else.

She hated his ability to put other people's needs before his own. To sacrifice his happiness to ensure the people he cared about enjoyed theirs.

She hated it.

And at the same time she loved him more because of it. She loved everything about him.

"We didn't do it exclusively because of you!" She said, angry at him for putting himself so low on his list of priorities. "What we have– had... I love Damon, Stefan," She said and before she could continue he opened his mouth to interrupt her, but she cut him off instead "But it's not that kind of love." She confessed to him. "I'm not going to lie and say I'm not attracted to him." She said, less angry and a lot more silently. "But that's it. It's physical. It's always been."

He studyed her for a few moments, and to her, he seemed to be deep in thought. She wasn't sure if she should interrupt him or not, but she remained silent, waiting for him to have the next words. His expression changed suddenly to something she couldn't understand at first. Did he feel sorry for her for promising herself to a man she didn't love? Or maybe he felt sorry for both of them, because Elena had no doubt in her mind that Stefan knew the extension of his brother's feelings for her, and how Katherine would always own his heart. Elena had known that all along, but tried to hide that thought deep inside of her, because Damon did the same for her. He ignored the fact that Elena's heart would always be owned by his own brother.

Maybe Stefan felt sorry for himself. Because even not loving Damon, she still chose to marry him, and not to be with Stefan, to fight for Stefan.

Elena knew his unspoken question before he even said anything. _Why would you marry a man with whom ou only have a physical connection with?_ She didn't know that answer to that herself. She knew she wouldn't be sad with Damon, she did love him, in a way. He would take good care of her and would be there when she needed him. Neither of them could be with the person they really wanted to be, and as in an unspoken contract, they commited to each other. Stefan didn't voice his question, so she didn't give him an answer to it. Another long moment of silence went by, and Elena swore this was the worst they experienced that night. It was longer and somehow, more distant. She knew what she wanted to say to him, but after everything she put him through, she didn't think it was fair from her part to say those three words and expect a good reaction out of him. And she was not strong enough to voice her feelings and have a bucket of ice cold water thrown above her head.

"I, um..." Stefan started, hesitantly. "I booked a flight." He told her and her heart dropped. He really was going away again. "For next week. Nik and Caroline are finally on good terms and he'd kill me if I left right away." He forced a chuckle out of his throat to lighten the mood a bit, since there really wasn't anything else he could do about this situation. Their situation.

"Are you sure?"

He nodded, forcing a smile that looked as fake as when Caroline told her mom she was an amazing cook. "There's nothing left for me here."

"What if..." She said, gaining enough courage. "What if i told you that I–" She was interrupted by him shaking his head no, telling her not to continue. "Is that what you want?"

He nodded again. "I need this, Elena." He confessed. "Maybe it's not a permanent thing, but, um, I need this right now."

She nodded as well, her eyes filling with tears as he stood up and slowly walked away, leaving a silent goodbye.

**XXXXX**

**So, I don't know if this was good or not. I tried my best to put their feelings on the table (except maybe those three little words from Elena's part but anyway). Don't forget to review and let me know what you think. And thank you so much for all the great reviews for last chapter, I'm really happy you guys are enjoying what I'm doing with this story (: I love you all.**


	14. Chapter 14

"Stefan Salvatore, don't make me tie you to this chair right now!" Caroline yelled at Stefan. He had just given her the news about his departure and Caroline wasn't handling it very well. Having her best friend back there with her these past few weeks had been amazing, and she wasn't ready to let that go quite yet. Plus, she didn't see a reason for him to leave. Elena and Damon were broken up, it was his chance to woo her back to him. "You can't leave." She said, sitting down on his bed next to Nik with a pout on her face. Nik put his hand on her back and started caressing her hair.

"I can't stay, Care." He told her softly, half amused by her overreaction, half upset that he had to leave her as well.

"I don't understand why can't you just get back with Elena." Rebekah said, for the first time since being in that room. The three of them turned to her with confused expressions. Rebekah had been 100% against the idea of Stefan and Elena being together again. Something had clearly changed her mind.

"Who are you and what have you done to my sister?" Nik asked in his strong charming British accent.

They all chuckled. "Come on, you adore her, and she called her engagement off when she finally realized she was hurting you, that has to count for something, right? She wants you."

"First, she doesn't want me." Stefan corrected her, and Bekah rolled her eyes at him. "Second, I don't even think I want to be with her anymore."

"Of course you do!" Caroline protested. She had always been one of those hopeless romantics, and couldn't stand the idea of the Stefan & Elena story not having a happy ending. Stefan half rolled his eyes, and lowered his head.

There was a big moment of silence as they all thought about the matter and Nik got to a conclusion, voicing his thoughts and breaking the silence. "I think she should be the one to fight for him." They all turned to him. Nik was actually giving relationship advices, who would have thought. "She'll never really appreciate you unless she has to fight like hell to get you."

"Who are you and what have you done to my brother?" Rebekah asked, instating him, in her perfect accent as well.

"I'm just saying, you should go. Let it all just cool out, then see what happens." Nik suggested.

Stefan smiled at his friend actually giving good relationship advices. "I don't know what Caroline has done to you," Stetan turned to Caroline. "But keep doing it." They all laughed and quickly changed the subject.

Stefan was a very, very lucky man for having them in his life.

xxxxx

I has been five days after Stefan last spoke to Elena. Caroline told him she had been asking about him. How was he doing, when did he plan to leave. Stefan didn't ask Caroline to keep anything a secret from Elena, but he wished she wouldn't ask anything about him, so Caroline wouldn't tell her. It would be best that way. She hadn't even tried to contact him, and he didn't know it was a good thing or a bad thing. If she didn't care at all she wouldn't be questioning Caroline about him, but if she did, why hadn't she tried to talk to him? He knew Elena, and when she had something on her mind, nothing would take it out of there. Maybe she cared, but not enough to actually do something to let him know that. Whatever.

Stefan heard the doorbell ring and ran downstairs to get the pizza Nik had ordered for them. He paid the pizza guy, telling him to keep the change and as soon as his fingers touched the warm pizza box his stomach growled in hunger.

"Was that Katherine?" Damon asked, coming into the room.

Stefan motioned to the box in his hands. "Just the pizza guy." He said. "Why, are you expecting her?"

"Nope." Damon denied, though his expression told him otherwise. Stefan couldn't help but wonder how were thing between them now that him and Elena were over. Maybe they'd go back to being together and had a real shot at happiness. Before Stefan could make his way back upstairs Damon spoke again. "So," Stefan turned to look at him an noticed he looked really nervous. That was not a common thing to see. "I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Whatever it is just spill it." Stefan said harshly, probably because he was starving and wanted to get on that pizza.

Damon sighed, walking closer to his brother. "What I did was wrong." He admitted and Stefan was caught a little off guard. He had never seen his brother admitting to being wrong, ever in his life. Damon had his full attention now, as he settled the pizza down. "I never meant to hurt you, but I did, it was wrong, I'm sorry." He finished.

Stefan stared at him blankly for a few seconds, and Damon felt extremely uncomfortable under his gaze. "That's it?" Stefan asked. "That's you apology?"

Damon threw his hands in the air and ran them through his hair. "God, I screw everything up!" He said angrily and Stefan noticed he said it more to himself. "I can't even make an apology right."

"I couldn't agree more." Stefan said, and Damon could detect a hint of playfulness in his voice even if his expression was completely serious. Damon was trying, and that counted for something, specially coming from him. "Get on that apology again, will you?" A smile crept on his lips, he couldn't help it.

"You enjoy seeing me struggle, don't you?"

"Very much." Stefan chuckled, but Damon went back to being serious, making Stefan imitate him.

"I mean it, Stefan. I'm really sorry about it, all of it. I don't expect you to forgive me, because I know I don't deserve it, but I need you to know that..." He stopped for a moment, looking for the right words. Or maybe he was finding strength inside of him to say them out loud. With Damon you could never be sure. Damon groanned, realizing there was not another way of saying this without making a complete ass of himself, as he used to say. "That you're my little brother and, yes, you're annoying and a buzzkill, but you're my best friend in life and I miss having you here with me." Damon finished, but was not satisfied with his words, like they didn't exactly represent his feelings. He needed to say those three words out loud. "What I'm trying to say is: I love you, brother."

A small smile crept on Stefan's lips upon hearing those words. Damon hadn't said he loved him since they were little kids. Stefan didn't make an effort to do so either. They didn't need to hear it from one another, they just knew it. They knew their bond was strong enough to get them through anything. They knew they were the only family the other had, and nothing could change it. They were brothers. They were, but they had ignored that for so long that, at one point, they weren't anymore. Or maybe they were and they just had to be reminded of it.

Damon shifted his weight from one leg to the other, waiting for Stefan to say something, even of it was to tell him to go to hell. When he didn't Damon threw his hands in the air and sighed, defeated. "That's the best I've got." He said, figuring that Stefan's silence meant he was not forgiven. He turned around to leave, but was stopped by Stefan's voice, calling his name.

"You're the worst brother in the history of bad big brothers, you know that?" Stefan said, and Damon noticed he didn't really mean it. Um, maybe just a little.

"I've been called worse." Damon smirked.

Stefan's expression turned serious one more time before he spoke again. He took a breath and put his hand over his shoulder. "I, um, I love you too, brother." Damon's face lit up some, knowing that meant he didn't totally screw it all up. "And I forgive you." He said, more silently, and a little uncomfortable, the elder brother realized it would take a lot more than that crappy apology for Stefan to completely forgive him. Maybe he never would. But Stefan was going to try and that was one of the million reasons why Stefan is just a better person than him.

"Thank you, little brother."

xxxxx

Stefan was reading in the living room, enjoy the peaceful minutes he had while Nik was out with Caroline and Rebekah had gone on a date with Matt. Their last one, since they were leaving the next day. It's too bad that Matt lives in Mystic Falls. He was an amazing guy, and he really seemed to like Rebekah. Rebekah liked him too, but she knew she couldn't get too attached to him. Long distance relationships sucked. However, that didn't stop her from enjoying it while it lasted.

A loud knock on the door caught his attention. He sighed, getting up from the couch and moving to answer whoever it was at this hour. Stefan pushed the door open, and Katherine skin figure was revealed behind it. He was surprised to see her without her heels. She was way shorter than him, something he had never noticed before. She left her leather jacket at home as well, wearing a dark blue dress that barely reached her knees, and matching sandals. It looked odd on her, almost like it was a different person. She looked less... Intimidating. It was like all – or at least most of – the walls she had put up around herself were temporarily down. Stefan instantly knew what she came here for.

"Um, who are you?" Stefan joked, stepping aside for her to come inside.

"Funny." Katherine rolled her eyes, coming in and shutting the door behind herself. "Where's Damon?"

"Upstairs." Stefan said, walking back to the couch and opening his book back on the page he was reading.

"Great, I need to talk to you." Katherine seated on the little table in front of Stefan, took the book off his hands, throwing it on the other side of the couch and crossed her legs. Her clothes were different, but her attitude was still the same.

"Took you long enough." Stefan said, hinting that he knew what she would say, or better, ask him.

She rolled her eyes again. "What do I do?"

"About what?" Stefan played dumb, forcing her to explain herself.

"You know what!" She said. "I can throw myself at him all I want, he won't give in."

"Have you thought about putting a little more effort into whatever you're doing?" Stefan suggested, trying to find a solution that would still go her way, even though he knew the only real solution to the problem was the very opposite from that.

Katherine smirked. "If he didn't give in in the first two days, he won't." She said, matter of factly. "I know him." She added. "But I have no idea what to do." Stefan smiled, but said nothing. "What?"

"Katherine, you know what you have to do. You're just scared of doing it." Stefan said, with an even larger smile. She looked at him with a puzzled look, waiting for him to continue, and silently hoping he wasn't talking about what she thought he was. "Tell him how you feel."

"He knows how I feel." She responded instantly, making him sigh. "We've been playing this stupid game since high school, Stefan, I wouldn't spend that much time and energy with this if I didn't– he knows how I feel."

"But you never said it." Stefan observed. "You two spent so much time trying to find a way to be together, and maybe it was enough for you, not to hear it, but he's insecure." Stefan explained as Katherine listened carefully to his every word. "You left with another man and stayed away for years. It's understandable. I'd be insecure too."

There was a long pause in which the only sound they could hear is from their breathing. Katherine seemed to be thinking about it, she seemed understand it. Suddenly, she stood up. "He's upstairs, right?" Stefan nodded, with a grin on his face.

Katherine went up the stairs and listened carefully to find where he was. After hearing make a noise in his room, she made her way to him. "What do you want?" Damon asked with his back to her. She was about to ask how did he know it was her, but saw her reflex in a mirror across from her.

When she didn't say anything, Damon turned around to look at her and before he knew it her lips were on his. It was... Gentle. And the opposite of what he expected. When their lips parted he felt her warm breath on his skin, her words against his lips. "I love you." Damon froze in place. That was the last thing he expected from her. Before he knew it she was moving away from him and at the door, turning around to look at him one more time. "When you're ready to believe it, you know where to find me." And with that, she left the room.

xxxxx

The day they were going back to New York had finally came. Stefan thought about packing some stuff of his that had stayed in the house the first time he went away, like journals, books or those picture albums from when he was a little kid, but decided against it. Those things were part of his old room and taking one small item out of place would feel wrong. He was leaving but part of him was still there, and he would like it to ramain that way. Plus, now that Damon and him were going to try and save their bond, he would probably be coming back to this place more often.

Damon insisted on driving him to the airport to say goodbye. Stefan didn't see the need to it, but didn't say anything, since his brother was clearly – and probably for the first time – making an effort.

Caroline came to say goodbye to them as well, obviously. Stefan couldn't help but feel bad for her, because he knew she misses them a lot. He knew because he misses her too. And now, with her actually being in a relationship with Nik, it would be even harder for her. The good thing is that he was sure he would be seeing a lot more of her in New York. Those two cant keep their hands off of each other. That summer, Caroline had asked to transfer to a university in New York. It was not to be close to Nik, since they were t even together at the time she did, but because she was studying fashion and the market over there was way bigger. At first she wasn't sure about it, not wanting to leave her mom, since her dad was not in the picture anymore, but she was able to convince herself to do this for her. Her mom would be just fine. They still hadn't given her an answer, though, and she was almost positive the transfer request would be denied. Nik was practically counting on it now. He was sure she would get in and come to New York to be with them soon. Stefan was positive about it as well, knowing anyone would be crazy not to want Caroline in their class. Rebekah had already made plans have lunch and go shopping with her at least once a week.

"You'll be there with us soon." Rebekah assured her.

"But I don't even know if I'll get in." Caroline pouted, while wrapping her arms around Nik's neck and securing herself there, while he put an arm around her waist.

"Of course you will!" Stefan said, getting a smile out of her.

Caroline's soft expression turned into a shocked one. "You'll have to take care of this one for me." She said to Stefan. "And," she turned to Nik. "If you do as much as look at another girl I'll rip your eyes off with a spoon, do you hear me?" She added in a threatening tone.

"Don't worry about it, love." Nik winked at her and kissed her temple, making her relax in his embrace. "Last chance to get a ticket and come with us." Nik said in her ear.

"I can't." She laughed lightly.

"But you can come to see us in a couple of weeks." Rebekah suggested.

"That I can do." Caroline said, getting excited over this last trip before summer was over.

Nik kissed her temple once again, before moving away from her a little to be able to kiss her. "We should get going." He said and Caroline agreed before kissing him one more time.

Stefan turned to Damon who was standing a little on the side, not intruding on the group's conversation. "So," Stefan started awkwardly.

"Guess that's it." Damon said before his brother could continue. "Let me know when you get there safe?" He asked, surprising Stetan with this sudden concern. He had to remind himself it wasn't so sudden. Damon worried about him, he just didn't let anyone know about it.

"Yes, Sir." He nodded in agreement. He smiled slightly at their awkwardness and pulled the dark haired brother in for a hug. "Take care of yourself." He tapped him on the shoulder and pulled away. "Don't screw things up with Katherine." He joked.

"You wouldn't have anything to do with her opening up about her feelings, would you?" Damon asked, smirking.

Stefan pretended to think it over for a second. "Have no idea what you're talking about."

Damon chuckled and smiled. "Thank you for that."

"You're welcome."

"Come on, Stefan, we have to go." Rebekah said from behind him, and he turned to follow Nik and Rebekah when he heard someone call his name in the distance. Figuring he was just imagining her voice, he kept walking. She called his name again, this time being a lot closer, and he turned around to see her, knowing he wasn't imagining it.

He turned just in time to see her running toward him. He had no time to react. Before he knew, Elena was inches away from him and jumping in his arms. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her waist to secure her and again, before he knew it he could feel her breath against his lips, as she come closer.

Her lips came crashing down on his soon after. Everything was happening too fast for him to process it, so he didn't respond to the kiss right away. A couple of seconds later he tightened his grip on her waist, pressing her body even closer to him as he kissed her back. He wasn't thinking, just acting; allowing his body to enjoy this. Them.

He didn't know exactly how long the kiss lasted, only that it had been so passionate that he felt like it had lasted forever. Breathless, Elena reluctantly pulled away, resting her forehead against his. Stefan was too shocked and overwhelmed to form a proper thought. He just stared at her blankly, waiting for her to say something, explain herself.

When she didn't, he took a step back, detaching their foreheads, and moving his hands away from her body. He swallowed dryly; his expression changed from blank to confused, maybe a little hurt. Elena just wanted to wipe away that confusion, the pain and replace it with countless kisses.

After a little while, she finally willed herself to say something, and without moving her gaze from his, she spoke.

"Don't go." She asked him. "Stay here with me."

**XXXXX**

**Sorry for taking long to update, guys. My notebook wasn't working and I had to write the entire chapter on my phone. So, thoughts? It wasn't goodbye sex, but was it good as well? Hahaha. Anyway, review and let me know what you think. **

**Oh! Someone asked me about my twitter. Follow me to know when I plan on updating and stuff. Just know that I talk a lot, haha. **

**Twitter: anna_ _carol (ff net won't let me put both underlines together, so I put a space between)**


	15. Chapter 15

_The sound of her laugh echoed through the cinema hall. It has become his new favorite sound. Along with everything else about her that had become his favorite, like the smell of her shampoo, or color of her eyes. Stefan was happier than he had been in a while, but he was scared too. Scared life would take her away from him for some reason. Life had a habit of doing that, one way or the other. He shrugged the though. He wouldn't let that happen._

_"I can't believe you just said that." She said through more laughter._

_"Hey, just because it's your birthday doesn't mean you can go around laughing at me, Miss." He told her, chuckling himself._

_She calmed down a few moments later, but kept the smiled stamped on her face. "Sorry." She said and he just kept gazing at her lovingly, like he was trying to carve that image in his brain to keep it there forever. "What?" She asked after it became awkward._

_"Have I told you how stunning you look today, Miss Gilbert?" Blush attacked her cheeks almost instantly, and he smiled at the sigh of it. He loved complimenting her._

_"You have to stop saying things like that." She told him, pushing a strand of her away from her face and tucking it behind her ear. "I'll start believing it."_

_"Good." He said, putting his hands on her hips and bringing himself closer to her. Their faces were inches apart and Elena closed her eyes, enjoying their closeness. He leaned forward, but didn't kiss her. Instead, he closed the rest of the distance between their bodies and whispered in her ear. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met." His sexy and smooth voice of his, God! she could swear it would drive her crazy one day. He kept his body pressing against her for another moment before separating them and leaving to buy their tickets._

_She didn't even care about what movie they were going to watch, __so she chose the first nice title she set her eyes on._ She was just happy she could spend her birthday with him. He really needed to stop doing that. Being close to her and saying those things to her. It was that much harder to resist the urge to throw her hands around his neck and kiss him. She had to restrain herself, though. He was her friend, and she wasn't ready to let that go just yet to try something she didn't even know if he wanted.

_Stefan came back with the tickets and they went to buy popcorn. As promised, he bought her the large one, and it made her smile. He always hated when she would eat her entire popcorn in the beginning of the movie, then eat all of his. He always let her, though, which made her think he didn't hate it all that much like he says he does. Or maybe he just likes her more than he hates it. Elena smiled at the thought._

_He wanted to carry it all for her, but she said he'd trip and drop it all on the ground, and she would be too busy laughing at him to go and buy more before the movie started. He pouted but didn't complain. He just used his free hand to hold hers. She was more than happy to let him._

_She didn't know exactly how her head ended up on his shoulder during the movie, or how he ended up wrapping his arm around her and pulling her to him. It's a good thing they were on love seats. At some point, the movie got really boring, then confusing. They weren't even sure what were they watching anymore._

_"You're the one who wanted to watch this." He reminded her, whispering in her ear, because, well, they were in the middle of the movie. Knowing the reason why he did it didn't make her shiver any less._

_"It had a nice title, okay?" She chuckled, and an old couple few rows behind them shushed them._

_"Wanna get out of here?" He whispered again._

_"Let's go." She told him, standing up and knocking down the rest of her popcorn, and stepping on it. They laughed all the while getting out of the place._

_"How can someone make a movie like that and expect anyone to understand it?"_

_Stefan laughed. "It might have helped a little if you tried to stay up, instead of sleeping on my shoulder."_

_"Nah, I was too comfortable." She smiled._

_He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "Sorry it ruined your birthday." He told her silently._

_"It didn't." She responded and stopped walking. "It's still perfect." She smiled. "Thank you."_

_He looked into her eyes for a moment longer than normal. So caring and loving as always. He took one step closer to her, not breaking their gaze. He put his hand in the small of her back, making her step forward as well, and close the distance between their bodies. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, but to Elena, every moment he didn't kiss her, felt like an eternity. "You know what could make it more perfect?" He asked. His voice sounded so sexy! How did he do that? How can he have this effect on her? She couldn't help but notice he was nervous. She was nervous too._

_"What?" She asked, but she didn't have to._

_He removed a strand of hair from her face and placed his hand on her back once again. Leaning forward, he brushed his lips against hers, like he was waiting for permission, or for her to stop him. When he was sure she had no objections to make, he closed the remaining distance between them and his lips came crashing down on hers. She threw her arms around his neck pulling him even closer, if that was possible, and he deepened the kiss. The kiss lacked nothing. He was gentle with her, but passionate at the same time. She couldn't explain it. She just knew it was the best feeling she had ever experienced in her life. He could say the same._

_She put her hands on his chest and pushed him just a little, for them to be able to catch a breath. He rested his forehead on hers, and the stood in that position. Trading air._

_"That was... Something." She said, at the loss of the right words. He nodded._

_"Yeah." He smiled, with that breathtaking smile of his. "Took us long enough, don't you think?" He smirked and she rolled her eyes._

_"Just shut up and kiss me, Salvatore."_

xxxxx

Stefan didn't know why he remembered that now. Actually, no, he did. This kiss, it felt like they were kissing for the first time, on her birthday that night. He craved those lips for so long, that it actually became a foreign feeling to him, even though he felt like could have never forgotten that feeling. God, he loves her!

"Don't go." She asked him. "Stay here with me."

He didn't know what to say. He wasn't prepared for that at all. Stefan wanted to see Damon's reaction to this. She had been his fiancè for a while afterall, even though they didn't love each other. He didn't turn around, though. He just kept blankly staring into her eyes, waiting for her to say something else. Anything.

"I can't lose you one more time." She said to him quietly while holding his hands in hers. "Please, Stefan, don't go."

Her voice was almost begging. It broke his heart. "Elena, I have to go." He said through a whisper, not being able to find the strenth inside of him to say it any louder, since his heart wanted the exact opposite of what his mind was making him say. He wanted to stay with her. He wanted it so bad.

"You," she started, unsure on how to continue this. What could she say to make him want to stay? "You don't have to." He notices her hands are sweating. She takes a deep breath before open mind her mouth again. "Stefan, I-"

"Elena, don't." He interrupts her. Again, he knew what she was about to say, and he didn't want to hear it. He needed nothing more than to hear her say those words, but he wanted her to actually mean it, and right now, he wasn't sure she would.

"Let me say it, Stefan!" She raised her voice. He didn't stop her anymore, and pulled his hands away from hers. Her heart fell. If she said it there, he wouldn't believe it. She gave him no reason to trust her, so why would he? She looked behind Stefan and Damon, Rebekah, Nik and Caroline were staring at them from a certain distance, but as soon as her look landed on them, they shifted their looks. "You won't believe me, will you?" She asked, moving her look back to him. He didn't want to say no, but didn't want to lie to her either, so he didn't say anything, and that was a good enough answer for her. "Do you think you'll ever believe it again?" She knew it wasn't about him believing it. It was about her proving to him that she was worth believing in. She once told him that "trust is earned. You can't just magically hand it over," and she was right. She wanted to prove that to him, she wanted to earn it, but she had no idea of how to do that with so much distance between the two of them.

Stefan looked down, not being able to hold her gaze for much longer. One more second and he would break down. Or worst. He would pull her in his arms and never let her go again.

"Stefan, we really do have to go." Rebekah said from behind him. He didn't even realize she was that close to him until she put her hand on his shoulder to catch his attention.

"Go ahead." He told her. "I'll be there in a minute."

So he really was going.

Did Elena actually believe he wouldn't just because she asked?

Stefan looked at her again and her eyes betrayed her. She looked hurt. Or disappointed. Maybe both.

"You know I'm not mad or angry at you or anything, right?" He asked awkwardly. She nodded, but it was so subtle that he wondered if he wasn't just imagining it. "I'm not." He reassured her. "But I really need to clear my head." She nodded again, and this time he was sure it was not his imagination.

"Yeah." She said. "Okay."

"I, um," He started. "I have to go now." She nodded again, and before he could turn and leave, she cupped his face and gave him a peck on the lips.

"Have a safe flight." She said after pulling away.

She watched as he turned around and walked away from her.

Again.

He went away from her again.

And she only had herself to blame.

xxxxx

Stefan was deadly quiet during the flight. Rebekah was asleep as she usually was during trips and Nik was tapping his finger on his leg, trying to make time go faster. He was reading something when they took off, but he finished it off already and was bored. Stefan had his eyes closed, trying to sleep and stop his mind from thinking what him and Elena would be doing right now if he had stayed.

"Mate," Nik called him in a whisper, even though there was a considerable amount of noise surrounding them. "Are you up?" Stefan pretended not to hear him, but Nik poked him in the shoulder, forcing Stefan to stop pretending he was asleep. Stefan raised his eyebrow in a questioning manner. "You don't look very well." Nik noticed, forgetting why he had woken up Stefan in the first place. "Do you regret leaving Elena there?"

"Yes." Stefan says immediately. "No." He corrected himself. "I mean," Stefan sighed. "I know I have to do this for myself but it doesn't make it any easier."

"That kiss messed up with your head, didn't it?" Nik smirked.

"It did." Stefan confessed.

"You know she's not going to back off, right?"

"I don't think she has much of a choice, does she?" Stefan asks worried. His self control was not strong enough to resist her twice.

"I think she realizes what she's lost and, by the looks of it, she's not ready to let that go." Nik explained.

Stefan seemed to think it over for a moment. "Do you think I should have stayed with her?" Stefan wondered why was he asking Nik for advice. As far as he was concerned, Caroline is the longest and most successful relationship he has ever been in. Well, come to think of it, his relationship with Elena was the most successful one he had been in, and look how that ended. By this point he really was getting desperate.

"I think you should stop asking people what you should have done and do what you _want_ to do instead."

It sounds simple and useless because it's so obvious, but that's actually the best piece of advice he could get. And it came from Nik.

Wow.

Guess people do grow.

It doesn't matter now, though. He left her again, and what's done is done.

xxxxx

When he got home, it was already dark outside. Home. This didn't feel like home at all. Mystic Falls didn't feel like home either.

Stefan sighed.

He took a long ass shower and was going to head to bed when he remembered Damon asked him to call when he got home. He took his phone and dialed his brother's number. It rang a couple times before Damon picked up.

"Hello, handsome!" He heard an excited woman's voice come from the other side of the line. She used the word "hello" with a lot more o's than normal, indicating that she was drunk. Katherine.

"Hey, Kath." He said chuckling when the image of what was probably happening between her and his brother right now. They really do not lose any time, do they? Well, good for them. "Is my brother there?"

"He is in the shower." She told him, making a pause. "Which reminds me: I should be joining him." She gigged. She was so drunk!

Stefan laughed, more at the way she said it than of what she said. "Tell him I'm home and alive, okay?"

"Who's on the phone, honey?" Stefan heard Damon yell from a distance. Honey? Since when did they call each other nicknames?

"STEFAN!" Stefan instinctively pulled the phone away from his ear not to be left death by her screaming against it. She was so drunk she didn't even remember to put some distance between her mouth and the microphone when yelling.

"Tell him that he forgot one of his shirts." He heard Damon's voice again, but had to make an effort to actually understand it.

"Do I look like a a freaking carrier pigeon?" Stefan heard Katherine say to his brother, then could hear Damon taking the phone from her to talk to him instead.

"Hey, little bro, how are you?"

"I'm home and ready for bed, mom." Stefan joked. It was nice to see it, since it didn't happen that often. That much time with Rebekah he learned that a little humor did wonders. It's normal to think he should have learned that with Damon by now, but he said humor. Not Damon-humor.

Damon laughed. It felt almost like the old times. Almost.

"Oh, you left a shirt of yours here and Elena just passed by to pick it up." He said, casually.

"What," Stefan was confused. "Why does Elena have it?"

"I don't know, she asked for it." He said even more casually and Stefan felt like punching him in the face over the phone. "Call her yourself and ask." He said, and Stefan could picture the ever present smirk on his face. He knew what Damon was doing.

"Why don't you focus in your relationship with the naked drunk girl in your bed and leave mine alone?" Stefan suggested. Damon looked at Katherine beside him and she really lying naked in his bed with a bourbon bottle in her hands. He mentally chuckled, not having the intention of letting Stefan know he got it right.

"So you do admit it is a relationship."

"Good night, Damon." Before he turned the phone off he could hear Damon shouting something about calling Elena. Asshole.

He remembered Nik's words again. "You should do what you want." He should do what he truly wants, no matter if he thought he might, and probably will, get hurt in the future.

Plus, it's not like he is any good at moving on anyway, right?

Stefan grabbed his phone once again, looking through the contacts and finding Elena's number. He debated with himself for minutes on what to say to her. Eventually, he just decided to text her.

Stefan: I heard you stole something on mine.

He wrote, and after a little more internal debate, pressed send. He tossed his phone on the bed and jumped besides it, figuring he was tired and should probably get some sleep. He felt his phone vibrate on the bed, though, so he grabbed and saw Elena's response flash on his screen.

Elena: Busted. You should come pick it up.

Stefan: I would if I wasn't 100% sure you're wearing it right now.

Elena: Busted.

Elena: Again.

Elena : You should give me your address so I can send it to you.

Elena waited, hopefully he would give it to her. If he was texting her... Well, at least he wouldn't slam the door on her face. He phone vibrated and an address flashed on her screen.

Stefan: P. Sherman 42, Wallaby Way, Sydney.

Elena: Funny.

Stefan: Caroline can give it to me when she comes visit in two weeks.

Elena: Or I can steal it permanently.

Stefan: Oh, no, not another one.

There was a time she would wear his clothes more than him. He had even separated a drawer in his room where he put all of the shirts she liked so it was easier for her to find them. He didn't mind one bit. She looked sexy as hell in his clothes.

Elena: hahaha

Stefan: Good night, Elena.

Elena: Good night.

Resting his phone on the nightstand, Stefan turned and pulled the covers over his body, falling asleep instantly, with a smile on his face.

**XXXXX**

**This chapter was a little shorter, but I wanted to end it like this since there will be a couple of weeks time jump in the next chapter. It also wasn't my best work, I know, but I hope you like it anyway. Next chapter will be a lot lighter and fun.**

**So, what did you guys think? Leave your thoughts in the reviews, and thank you so much for all the great reviews! I love you all.**

**Oh, since someone had asked about my twitter I feel like I should post my tumbr here as well (:**

**Twitter: anna_ _carol**

**Tumblr: paulslaugh**


	16. Chapter 16

Stefan has been back in New York for two weeks. Two weeks of thinking about that kiss. Two weeks of grabbing his phone, dialing the number and turning it off before it even started to ring. He had made up his mind finally. He should try again with Elena. Start it slowly, see if it could really get anywhere, but most important of all: not get too hopeful. That's the way he found to conciliate his heart and his mind, and he was pretty satisfied with it. There was one tiny problem, though. He was in freaking New York and she was in Mystic Falls. Her life was there, and his wasn't. To work this out, they'd have to do the long distance relationship thing, and it only made him think of Italy and how well that worked out for them. He needed to see her and discuss everything with her. Maybe she wouldn't even want for them what he wanted.

He didn't even hear his alarm go off, and when he did wake up, it was because of his buzzing phone on the nightstand. He reached for it, still sleepy, and pressed answer.

"Huh," was all he managed to get out in his sleeping state.

"Great, you're still sleeping!" He heard a frustrated Caroline on the other side of the line and jumped from his bed instantly. Shit! He forgot Caroline arrived today and they were supposed to pick her up at the airport. Stefan quickly grabbed boxers, pants and a shirt, and headed to the shower, putting Caroline on speakerphone while getting ready.

"No, I'm not. I'm just– I got held up doing this thing..." He tried to come up with an excuse, but came up blank. Oh good, Caroline was going to kill him!

"Oh my God, did you sleep with anyone last night?" Caroline asked with a disapproving tone in her voice. He just laughed to that. Yeah, like that would happen anytime soon.

"No, Care, I didn't." He told her. "Would it have been that bad if I did?" He asked, noticing her voice tone.

"Yes!" She said before she could stop herself. "I mean no." She corrected herself before he noticed she was hidding something. "I mean– Ugh, whatever, be ready because we're coming to your place." With that she hung up. Stefan had learned not to ask anymore. He never particularly enjoyed her answers, so he just lets it go.

After she hung up, he finished his shower in peace, not having to worry about being late anymore. Just as he was headed to the kitchen to grab something to eat, his doorbell rang. Weird. Caroline never rang the bell. She always got his key under the doormat and let herself inside. Maybe he used the spare key, didn't put it back in place and forgot about it. He made his way to the door and opened it. "Hey, Car–" His voice caught in his throat when he saw who was standing in his door instead of his blond friend. He couldn't say he wasn't happy to see her, though.

"Not Caroline." She said, with an innocent smile.

"Elena, what are you doing here?" He asked, but he didn't need to. This had Caroline written all over it.

"Rebekah invited me." She told him, and his expression turned into a surprised, almost shocked one. "I hope you don't mind."

"Um, no, not at all." He said, stepping aside for her to be able to walk past him. "Come on in."

Elena stepped inside, purposely brushing her body against his. It didn't go unnoticed, but he decided against saying anything, and just smiled. She stopped in the middle of his living room and looked around the place. It had black and white decoration and walls. The kitchen was decorated in the same way and she couldn't help remembering his room at the boarding house, and how nothing in his house reminded her of it. "Nice house." She said, throwing a smile his way.

"I'll give you a tour later." He smiled as well. "You hungry? I was about to make myself breakfast."

"A little." She told him. She wasn't hungry, but she could never refuse when Stefan offered to cook. She followed him to the kitchen and sat at one of the chairs around the counter and let him do his thing. She would offer to help, but she knew he would only make a joke about her cooking skills, tell her to sit down and wait, when she knew it was just because he wanted to do it for her, being the gentleman that he is.

"So," he started making conversation. "How long do we have before Caroline freaks out that I'm not there to see her yet?"

"I'd say a couple hours." Elena laughed slightly and Stefan did the same. "Um, Stefan,"

"Yes?"

"We should talk about, you know," Elena lowered her head.

"We don't have to, Elena." He told her.

"I know, but..."

"But nothing." He said. "We can talk about it later. It's too early for the serious stuff." With him smiling at her like that, how could she argue? She smiled back at him and nodded. Silence filled the room for a couple of minutes while he finished the omelet he was preparing for them. "So," He started, while he sat in front of her and put their plates on the table. "Rebekah, huh? Are you two, like, friends now?"

"I guess." Elena shrugged, smiling. "She made it pretty clear she still thinks I'm a bitch, though." She said. "I think she's conflicted." She said, finally, making Stefan laugh. "She just wants you to be happy."

"Well, I can't say anything but happy right now." He told her, making her blush and lower her head while smiling. "I'm glad you're here."

She took a bite of her omelet to avoid looking at him, seeing how her cheeks were probably red. "Me too."

xxxxx

They finished breakfast while having a cheerful conversation about some random subject. He made her laugh while giving her a tour of the house, and she made him smile just by being there with him. He needed to remember to thank Rebekah for that.

After a while they headed out to meet Caroline and the others. Caroline had texted Stefan, telling him to meet them at her favorite restaurant for lunch. He had to double check the message to make sure it was really lunch, because until then he hasn't even realized how late he had woken up.

When they reached the parking lot, Stefan, being the gentleman that he is, opened the door for her and a huge smile instantly lit up her face. She wasn't used to anyone opening doors for her anymore. How could he be so perfect? He held his arm out for her and she took it as they made their way inside.

As soon as they stepped in they were able to see an extremely happy Caroline talking nonstop on a table in the corner of the restaurant. The environment was so warm and friendly that Elena liked it instantly, and knew why Caroline liked it as well.

"Stefan!" Caroline jumped on him when they reached the table, and Stefan detached their arms to give Caroline a tight hug. They look like they hadn't seen each other in years, even though it had only been a couple of weeks.

"Hey there, Bubbles." He said finally while Caroline sat back in her seat. "And Mr. Bubbles." He joked while tapping Nik on the shoulder earning an annoyed look from his friend. He kissed Rebekah on the cheek before sitting down beside Elena on the table.

"Did you like your surprise, Stef?" Rebekah asked with a smirk. He looked over at Elena, and she was smiling shyly, seeming to be particularly interested in her nails.

"It was okay." He shrugged, and Elena raised her head. "You could have wrapped her in a bow, though." He said, pretending to think of different ways to make the surprise better. "Maybe some wrapping paper."

"I suggested some nice lingerie, but she didn't like the idea." Rebekah said, making Elena's cheeks turn red instantly.

"I sure would have been surprised." Stefan said, and by this time Elena's cheeks were on fire. "Pleasently surprised." He added, and she smacked his shoulder, not being able to take the teasing any longer. He yelped, then chuckled. Other than tickling her, teasing her was his favorite time killer. She got so embarassed over the smallest things that he would tease her every change he got. It was the first sign to Elena that he was comfortable with being around her, and she was thankful for that. If he had to make her blush in front of his friends for some normalcy, so be it. Deep down she didn't mind it, but it didn't make her blush any less.

"So you two are kind of, like, together again?" Caroline asked, avoiding Elena's glare and focusing her look on Stefan, since he was more likely not to get upset about her question.

"Yup," Stefan answered while looking over the menu, trying to choose what to eat. "We're driving to Vegas to get married tonight." Stefan raised his look from the menu to glare at Caroline, to which she rolled her eyes. Stefan looked over at Elena who seemed to be seconds away from exploding, so he put his hand on that one stop above her knee. His touch sent shievers through her entire body, relaxing her and making her smile. "No, Caroline."

"Why is it taking you so long?" Rebekah asked, annoyed with them. Rebekah could be the most understanding and loyal friend in the world sometimes, but everything for her was black and white, leaving no space for the gray area. He raised an eyebrow in her direction, indicating that this was the end of the subject, and she rolled her eyes.

They engaged in a conversation right after the waitress had taken their order, and by the time she came back with it, they were laughing at something Nik had said. "So," Rebekah started. "What are we doing tonight?"

"What do you have in mind, sweetheart?" Nik asked his sister.

"Go to a club, maybe?" She suggested. "What would you like to do, Elena?" Rebekah turnes her attention to Elena.

"Okay, I'm confused." Nik said. "I thought you two didn't like each other." Rebekah waved her hands in her brother's direction, probably her way of telling him to shut up.

"So, Elena?" Rebekah asked again.

"A club sounds nice." Elena answered finally, sending an apologizing look to Stefan. She knew he hated this kind of things, but Rebekah was finally being nice to her, and she didn't want to ruin this new friendship they had created.

They finished lunch, and a very large pie they bought for desert. Rebekah had to head home, saying she needed to do this thing, but Stefan knew it was just an excuse because she didn't want to be a third wheel, or better yet, a fifth wheel. Stefan offered to show Elena around the town, since it was her first time in New York. He loved his friends' company, but he really wanted some alone time with Elena. Not alone time in that way, just some time for them to talk and just make themselves comfortable around each other again. Not that it would be a particularly hard task, bonding with her, but he wanted privacy. Specially to stay clear of Caroline and Rebekah's inconvenient comments.

"So," Stefan says while they're walking side by side; their arms brushing against each other's. "Sorry about Bekah, she..."

"Stefan," Elena interrupts him. "You don't have to apologize for her." She tells him with a grin on her face. "Plus, I learned not to take everythings she says seriously this past week."

Stefan laughed. "So, what? She just called you up and invited you over?"

"Yes, actually." Elena chuckled. "She lectured me first, then she threatened me," she said, remembering their never ending phone conversation. "But then she finally said I should come with Caroline." She told him. "She even offered me her guest room," Stefan looked surprised, so she eased his worries. "Which I politely declined." Stefan kept staring at her, seeming to be rather amused. "What?"

"I can totally picture Rebekah threatening to kill you over the phone."

"Nah," Elena shrugged. "No death threats." She told him. "She might have said something about breaking both of my legs if I ever hurt you again, though." Stefan laughed again, but Elena noticed he looked a little stiff this time. "Hey, look at me." She said, cupping his face with her hands until he was looking at her in the eyes. "That won't happen. I promise you."

He smiled, and it seemed geniune, so Elena moved her hands away from his face, but before she could drop her arms by the sides of her body again, he grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it, before starting to walk again, not interrupting the hand holding. Elena smiled at him. "What hotel are you at, then?" Stefan asked, picking up their conversation where they left off.

"I don't know, to be honest." She told him. "Caroline dropped me at your place, then took my stuff to the hotel with her earlier today."

"You two sharing a room?"

"We are."

"You know there is not a chance she'll actually share a room with you, right?" He asked as he watched her confused expression. "Nik won't let her leave his bed."

"I have considered this possibility, yeah." She chuckled.

Stefan stopped walking and she turned around to see why. "I have a guests room too." He told her, with an expectant look on his face. "Caroline will understand."

She pretended to think for a moment, when really, there was nothing to think about. Then a grin appeared on her face, so contagious that it made him grin as well. "Let's go get my stuff, then."

xxxxx

They picked up Elena's stuff at the hotel after calling Caroline and asking her to get the room open for them, since she was the one with the key. When they told her Elena would be staying at Stefan's place she eyed them with a grin, but didn't say anything, for which Stefan was thankful. As soon as they got back to Stefan's place, he put her bags in the guests bedroom, and she said she was going to take a much needed shower. Stefan waited for her outside, but his mind inside of that shower with her. She got out of it, and said she would rather stay inside and hang out a bit, maybe watch a movie, since soon she would have to go get ready for their club night. Stefan was thinking how nice it was to pretend that nothing had happened for the entire day, and just be with her, like they would all those years ago.

Granting her wish, Stefan suggested they watch one of his DVDs. They sat side by side on the couch, with a certain distance between them, but she ended up with her head on his shoulder and his arm found his way around her waist. Like always.

"I should go get ready." Elena said, lifting her head from his shoulder when the movie ended, but still staying pretty close to him.

"They won't be here for another couple of hours." Stefan told her, checking his watch.

"I haven't even chosen what to wear yet." She said, making her point. Stefan laughed. "What?"

"You never change, do you?"

She pondered on that for a moment. "I did." She told him seriously. "But hopefully I'm finding my old self again."

His eyes pierced into hers and she wants to break their intense gaze, but can't find enough strength in herself to do so. "Can you keep a secret?" Stefan's whisper is barely audible. She would have heard him if he wasn't only inches away from her face. She nodded slowly, having a hard time concentrating with him being that close to her face. "I really want to kiss you right now." He said in his sexy whisper once again, and she could swear her heart skipped a beat.

She opened her mouth to answer him, but when vocal cords didn't obey her, she closed it again, only to open it one more time a couple of seconds later and force the words out of her mouth. When did speaking become such a difficult task? "Why don't you?"

He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers.

A phone ringing interrupted them before they could go any further, though, and Stefan sat back on the couch, like a kid who had been caught doing something really bad and was scared about his punishment. Not scared, really, more like tense, stiff. "It's, um, it's yours." He said, pointing to her phone over the little table in front of the sofa they were sitting in.

Elena reluctantly picks up. "What?" She can't help but feel angry and frustrated.

"Whoah, what's the bad mood all about?" Elena heard a woman's voice on the other side of the line.

Elena couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Sorry, Caroline," she said. "We were in the middle of something." She watched Stefan's lips curve into a small smile.

"Oh. My. God." Caroline said loudly. So loudly that Elena had to move the phone away from her ear a little. Stefan rolled his eyes, which meant he must have been able to hear her as well. "Were you two...?"

"No!" Elena said quickly. "Can we go straight to the point of your call, please?" Elena knew Stefan noticed her blushing cheeks, so she turned her back to him. Just the thought of what Caroline was about to say made her blush. Not because she was embarrassed, but because until now she hadn't realized how badly she wanted him.

"Oh, right, I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't let Stefan bail on our night out."

"Don't worry, Ma'am, I'll cuff him and drag him all the way there if I have to." She said with a smile, knowing that Stefan would go just because she wants him to. He would do whatever she wanted him to.

Stefan watched as Elena talked to Caroline for a few more minutes, debating on what they were going to wear, then they finally hung up and she walked back and sat on the couch beside him. "Um," she said, leaning towards him. "Where were we?" She asked silently.

He leaned forward as well, but when their lips were about to touch he moved his head to the side a little, giving her a kiss on the cheek, and moving away from her. "You were about to go and get ready." She sighed, and he smiled at her.

She stood up from the couch and went upstairs as she muttered something about ripping Caroline blond head off her body.

Stefan had to smile at how familiar all of this felt.

It felt like home.

**XXXXX**

**I had a serious block and this chapter really didn't end up like I first wanted it too, but I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer. So, what do you guys think? Don't forget to review and let me know (:**


	17. Chapter 17

After what seemed like an eternity, Elena came down the stairs. Stefan had time to take a long shower, get dressed and he still had to wait a long time for her. Stefan watched her closely as she walked down. She was wearing a tight high-waisted black skirt that reached the middle of her tights, and a dark red blouse that exposed her naked back. Her black stilettos accentuated her lean long legs, making him want to run his hands over all it's extension. When she noticed he was watching her, she smiled at him, but he couldn't do the same. Him mouth was dry, and for a moment he seemed to have lost the ability to speak. Now that she was a little closer, he could see she had applied some make up. Her eyes popped out, due to the eyeliner she was wearing, and her eyelashes were even longer than usual. Her oh, so kissable lips were covered in pink lipgloss. It made him want to bite them.

"Staring much?" Her voice broke the trans he was in.

"Um," He struggled with the words, not quite being able to find one that would suit what he wanted to say. "You look..." She raised an eyebrow in his direction and smile, warming his entire being and instantly relaxing him. What kind of a smile had the ability to relax someone? Hers, obviously. "You look stunning." He said finally.

"You don't look so bad yourself." Elena answered, looking him over. He had a dark grey blazer over a black and white stripped shirt, contrasting with his light pants. He looked gorgeous.

"Shall we?" He asked, holding his arm out for her to grab as they walked out of his apartment.

Not long after, they met Nik, Caroline, Rebekah and a tall, dark-haired guy, to whom Stefan had never been introduced to, much less Elena. Stefan guessed it was Rebekah's new thing. Whatever. If he was important, Rebekah would have said something about him, so he guessed she must be having some fun.

Nik gave his name at the door, and they were allowed inside. Stefan searched for Elena's hand and intertwined their fingers, just in case the crowd's movements separated them. She smiled at the gesture and gave his hand a light squeeze. Elena looked around the club, noticing the bar at the back of the saloon. Bartenders were making flambéed drinks on one side, putting on a show for whoever was interested in it. On the other side, they were shaking drink, throwing the bottles in the air, and then catching it again. Elena was in awe as her eyes scanned the rest of the saloon. The dance floor was right in the middle, and there was a already big group of people having fun in it. Elena noticed Caroline was the one leading the group, figuring out they all must have been in this place at least a thousand times. No wonder Caroline was never that excited to go to a club back home anymore, this place was amazing, and she doubted anything in Mystic Falls would ever come close to this.

They got to their table at the VIP section on the second floor, and sat down. Before they even had time to make themselves comfortable, the waiter brought them a bottle of champagne, on the house, which they gladly accepted. Elena looked at Stefan quizcaly, and he shrugged, telling her Nik is friends with the owner of the place. They engaged in conversation, and Elena noticed Stefan looking at the guy with Rebekah, apparently trying to decide if he was one of the good ones or not. Always the protective.

After their second glass, Rebekah and the dark haired guy excused themselves and went to the dance floor. Elena came to realize Nik was as fond of dancing as Stefan, so she didn't expect any dancing on their part for the night.

Caroline suggested they left the champagne and did some shots. Nik didn't seem particularly excited with the idea, though. Elena figured he knew Caroline is the emotional drunk, and he would be the one to tuck her in tonight. Elena wouldn't be too thrilled about it either, but to her surprise he didn't say anything, and ordered the drinks for them.

"Does anyone want something to eat?" Nik asked, while the liquid still burnt Elena's throat. Stefan was already on his second shot and she had just found the courage to drink her first. After everythign that happened that night with Damon, Elena would rather stay away from alchool.

"I want to dance." Stefan said, instead. His answer took everyone by surprise, to which he rolled his eyes while getting out of their booth and holding his hand out for Elena. "Would you give me the honor?"

Elena smiled at him and took his hand, letting him lead her to the dance floor. They found an empty space at the back, and started to dance to a strong bass beat that made Elena's heart rate pick up. She didn't know what was it about that place that made her feel like there was only her and Stefan there, on the dance floor. Maybe it wasn't the place. Maybe it was him. Maybe being with him made her forget everything else. Maybe, just maybe, she _wanted_ to forget everything else and get lost in him.

They danced like there for five or six songs. The song changed again to something Elena didn't recognize. Stefan stepped closer to her, putting his hands on her hips, as they moved. So synchronized that it seemed like a choreograph. She rested her hands on his chest, feeling his muscles under the fabric o his shirt. He moved even closer to her, while she let her hands go up, reaching his shoulders, then wrapped her arms around his neck. They continued moving in that position, enjoying the close proximity. She let herself get lost in the feeling of his strong torso being pressed against hers; the warmth of his body enveloping hers. He focused on her breath on his face – which was only possible due to the heels she was wearing – and on her hands on the back of his neck, trailing circles and playing with the ends of his hair. They were trading air. It was so comfortable, so intimate. "I didn't know you could dance like this." Elena broke their silence, whispering agaisnt his lips. He was barely able to hear her, but his look was locked on her lips, so he was able to read them.

"Neither did I." He said honestly, and a light laugh scaped her lips. "It's so good to see you laugh."

"Yeah?" She asked, her eyes focused on his lips as well. "I like it when you make me laugh."

The song changed again to something a little more upbeat, but they didn't move their bodies away from each other's. Instead, Stefan tightened his grip on her waist. She bit her lower lip, and it did crazy things to him. "Don't do that." He said.

"Do what?"

"Bite your lip." He told her. "It's... distracting." He added. "I can feel my self-control slowly slipping away from my body." Stefan whispered in her ear, and his hot breath sent shivers all over her body. He moved his face to the side, and their lips were almost touching now.

"We should talk about this first, right?" Elena asked with no conviction, her voice barely audible in the noisy and crowded dance floor. She was glad she was still able to form a sentence, though. She wanted to kiss him so badly, but didn't want him to think this was a mistake.

"Right." Stefan said with even less conviction in his voice, repeating her last word only to have an answer for her. "Or maybe we could talk later." He added, bringing his face closer to hers, brushing his lips agaisnt hers.

"Yeah." She nodded, and before they both knew it, his lips came crashing down on hers, literally taking her breath away.

She ran her fingers through his hairs, pulling him in and deepening the kiss.

World could have stopped right then and there, it wouldn't matter. They wouldn't even notice.

Elena was the one to pull away first, being breathless and entirely too overwhelmed to produce any coherent thoughts, much less any words. The only thing she was able to do was search for his lips again, noticing how hungry for hers they were when they finally made contact again. The explosion of sensations inside of Elena was unexplainable.

One. Two. Three. She lost count of how many kisses they shared before he rested his forehead agaisnt hers. "I need a drink." He told her. "Want something?" She shook her head, looking at him quizcally. Not that his tolerance to alchool was particularly low, but, usually, he only drank much when something was wrong. He didn't go past the second glass, and this was about to be his fifth. "Well, I need to be drunk if we're going to do any more dancing." He said, easing her worries and giving her one of those breathtaking smiles of his.

"I don't want to dance." She told him, taking his hand and pulling him out of the dancefloor alongside her.

"Oh?" He asked, pulling her to him by her waist. She grinned. "So, what would you like to do, Miss Gilbert?" He asked, his lips dangerously close to her ear.

Elena burried her head in the crook of his neck, being glad that the place was so crowded that no one bothered to pay attention to them. She raised her head and spoke in his ear, much like he had done to her. "Let's get out of here."

Instantly, Stefan let go of her waist and grabbed her hand, guiding her out of the club. Once they were out and the cold air hit them, he pulled her to him again, attacking her lips with his. She giggled, not being able to believe this was really happening. She couldn't be happier right then. "Stop laughing when I'm trying to kiss you." He complained.

"I'm just happy." She giggles again, pressing her lips agaisnt his again.

"Yeah, well, I'd be happier if you stopped laughing and let me kiss you." He grinned, not being able to contain his happiness either. "Let's go." He pulled her with him, an arm around her waist, keeping her close and protecting her from the cold air.

They reached his car and he opened and closed the door for her. He got in, started the car, and gave her one last peck on the lips before starting to drive. Elena texted Caroline.

Elena: Sorry Stefan and I had to bail. See you tomorrow?

Caroline didn't reply right away, but when they were almost at Stefan's building, Elena's phone vibrated indicating there was a new text.

Caroline: You little minx! I saw you two down on the dance floor. You're totally having sex tonight.

Elena: Goodnight, Care.

Elena didn't even notice they were there until Stefan opened the door for her and offered his hand to help her get out of the car. As soon as she stepped out and closed the door behind her, he pinned her agaisnt the car, not being able to handle the lack of contact for much longer. She was more than happy to let him kiss her a couple more times. And again, and again, and again as they walked in the building towards the elevator.

When the elevator finally came to a stop, Stefan pushed her inside with his body, making her laugh. He moved his hands from her waist to her tights. "Stefan!"

"What?" He asked, faking innocence.

"There are probably cameras in the elevator." She said, as his hands tried to go up her skirt.

"I couldn't care less." He told her, going back to his previous activity. She grabbed his hands and stopped him from getting them under her skirt.

Finally, they got to the right floor and Stefan quickly got the keys in his pocket and opened the door, not detaching his lips from hers once. How he managed to do it, Elena didn't know. He walked backwards and a few steps later, Elena felt the couch behind her legs, and the next thing she knew, she was falling on it, with him falling above her.

They made out for a few more minutes on the couch. A very hot and satisfying make out session. Stefan ran his hands along her waist, and when he finally found the zipper of her skirt, he started to slowly pull it down. "Stefan," she called his name breathlessly, making him stop halfway through unzipping her skirt.

"Hmm," was all he could say, moving his lips to her neck. She moaned silently, forgetting for a moment why she stopped him, but remembering it again the next second.

"We can't do this now." She told him, and he instantly stopped kissing her neck. She heard him sigh as he burried his face in the crook of her neck.

"I know." He did know. He was just too caught up in the heat of the moment to think straight. He sat up, moving away from her and allowing her to do the same. "Let's... talk." He added, with a smile. Elena sat up uncomfortably, and he could notice she was tense. He didn't comment on it, though.

"Um," she started, looking at him. She took a deep breath and blurted it out, figuring it would be easier. "It was selfish of me to show up at the airport like that and ask you to stay with me, but-"

"Don't apologize." He interrupted her. "I'm glad you did." He added. "I just really needed the time to think."

"And I knew that." She pushed a strand of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "I was just confused as well, I guess." He nodded, offering her a small smile. She made a pause, and he wondered if she had nothing else to say, or if she was just looking for the right words to do so. "Remember the first night we spent together?" She asked, out of the blue.

It took him by surprise, but he nodded. "Of course I do."

"Do you remember what we talked about afterwards?" He looked confused, not quite understanding where she was getting with this. "I made you promise me you would never, ever leave me." The confusion on his face faded as he recalled what she was talking about. "And you said that," she added nervously. "You said that as long as you are you, and I am me,"

"As long as we're Stefan and Elena I am never going to leave you." He finished it for her, and her face lit up, knowing that he remembered every word. That he meant them.

"And I asked you 'what if I ever stop being me?'" She laughed, and for him, it seemed a little sad. "You said you'd wait for me."

"I said I'd be old and grey and my love for you would always be there."

She nodded, with tears burning the back of her eyes. "And you waited for me."

"I meant every word I said, Elena."

"I know." She told him after a moment. "I guess I've always known it." She added. "I didn't want to admit it because it would mean admiting to myself that I had hurt you so bad, and you didn't deserve that. And it hurt me, knowing that I had you and lost you, and I had no idea how to fix everything."

Stefan reached for her hand for support, knowing that she had to tell him those things. For him, but for herself too, because the guilty was breaking her painfully slowly, and the sooner she got it all out, the sooner they could focus on putting it all behind them.

"There wasn't a way to fix it, but you forgave me anyway." She smiled, her tears rolling down now. "Thank you."

"Come here." He pulled her close to him, and she burried her face on his chest. When he could feel she steadied her breathing, he stopped hugging her and cupped her face wih his hands. He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips, nothing like the ones he had shared with her the entire night.

"I love you so much." She told him, taking him by surprise. She looked so relieved to finally be able to say it out lout, to him, it warmed his heart.

His lips curved into a breathtaking smile. "I love you," He pressed his lips harder agaisnt hers, but it was still so gentle that she could barely feel it. "So. Much."

They kept gazing at each other, little lovesick teenagers. He pulled her down on the sofe with him again, and she laid on his chest while he stroked her hair.

After what felt like half an hour of laying down, Elena yawned, making Stefan chuckle.

"I think it's past someone's bed time."

"I'm a five year old, apparently." She joked, sitting up.

He laughed. And it was so good to see him laugh. "Come one, let's get you to bed."

She took the make up off her face, changed into her PJ's and when she left the bathroom, Stefan was sitting on her bed, waiting for her only in sweats. She wished he had a shirt on, because all those muscles made her want to strip off her clothes and put that bed to good use. "You here to read me a bedtime story?"

"If you want me to." He told her, with a smile as she walked in his direction. She rolled her eyes and layed down on the bed. He pulled the covers up her body and kissed her temple. "Goodnight, Elena."

"Wait," she said before he had the chance to walk away from her bed. "This is a really big bed." She said, pointing to all of the empty space besides her. He faked confusion and she smiled. "I might feel lonely at night."

"Oh, and we don't want that." He told her, walking around and climbing the bed from the other side. He pulled the covers over himself as well and turned off the lamp on the nightstand, keeping some distance from her.

She moved closer to him, until they were cuddling. He didn't need to see her to know she had a satisfied smile on her face. "Good night, Stefan."

"Good night, 'Lena."

When he heard and steady breathing, he knew she was asleep. He let his mind wonder for a bit longer, though, thinking about the day's events.

He couldn't believe was there with him.

Because she loved him.

She loves him.

**XXXXX**

**Forgive me if there are probably more mistakes than usual in this update, but it's pretty late and I'm sleepy, haha. **

**Sooo, finally, they exchanged I love you's! How do you feel about that?**

**Make sure to leave your thoughts in the reviews (: **


	18. Chapter 18

_She was breathing heavily, being entirely too overwhelmed with the mix of sensations Stefan had just provided her with. His breathing was heavy too, though it seemed to be calming down a little faster than hers. She moved her look from the ceiling to him, only to find him already looking at her. He brought his hand up to her face, trying to take a mental picture of this moment right there. "God, I love you." He said as he caressed her cheeks._

_"I love you too." She said with a smile that soon faded, worrying Stefan._

_"What's wrong, 'Lena?"_

_"Nothing." She tried easing his worries, but he knew her too well to know when she was lying. "I just... I wished we could stay like this forever."_

_He moved closer to her and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. "This," he started. "Right now, or this, us?" He asked._

_"Both." She told him after a minute. They stood in silence for a moment, focused on each other's now steady breathing. Stefan moved closer to her, wrapping his arm around her naked stomach, pulling her closer to him. The skin contact seemed to relieve her from her thoughts a little. "Promise me." She asked._

_"Promise what?"_

_"That this," She said. "Us," She clarified. "Will last forever." She added without looking at him. It would break her if he didn't promise her that, but she had to take her chances. She'd better be prepared for it now than let it happen later. "Promise me you will never, ever leave me." She said finally, making herself turn and look at him._

_"I promise." He said without one single bit of hesitation. "I promise you that as long as I'm me, and you're you," He said, pushing away a strand of hair that has fallen on her face. She smiled, and he smiled back. "As long as we're Stefan and Elena, I am not going to leave you." He moved forward and left a soft kiss on her temple.  
_

_She was silent for a moment while his words sank in. "What if I stop being me?" She asked, fearfull. People change. Time changes them. She couldn't stand the thought of losing him because she had lost herself._

_"I'll wait for you." He said simply, knowing that nothing she could ever do would make him love her any less. ____"We'll be grey and old, and you'll still be the most beautiful girl in the world. The most precious thing in the world." She was trying to hold back her tears, but they fell anyways. He brought his thumb to her face and whiped them, which made more of them fall. "I don't think it's possible to love anyone like I love you, Elena." He added. "And I know that this love is not going anywhere."_

___She looked up at him, so lovinly that it made his heart beat faster. "Could you be any ____more perfect?" She asked, lighthearted with his confession, and with what they had just done. _

___"Of course I can, have you met me?" He asked, making her laugh. _

___They remained like that for minutes. Her head on his chest; his hand trailing circles on ther flat stomach; their naked bodies tangled. Not long later, Stefan could hear Elena's breathing steady and he knew she was sound asleep. He closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep as well. _

xxxxx

"Stefan!" He stirred some, but didn't open his eyes, set on ignoring her attempts to wake him up. "Stefan, where are you?" She yelled louder, and he knew he wouldn't be able to avoid her. He felt Elena stir by his side as well, and it instantly brought a smile to his face.

"What the hell..." Elena said, with her eyes still closed, trying to go back to sleep.

"Good morning, beautiful." He leaned closer to her and kissed her temple.

"What time is it?" Elena asked, opening her eyes and turning around to look at him.

"Way too early to be awake on a saturday morning." He told her. He could hear Caroline's impatient steps on the corridor, but didn't want her to come into the room with him and Elena together. God knows how much she would have to say about their relationship after that. She wouldn't stop. "Come here." He said, as she leaned closer and he gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.

"Oh. My. God." They heard Caroline's voice coming from the door, and separeted their lips. "You two aren't naked are you? I can totally wait downstairs if you are." The blond said in one breath, turning around not to stare at them if they were, indeed, naked.

"No, Caroline," Stefan laughed slightly. "We're not naked." He didn't have to look at Elena to know she was blushing.

"Oh, good." Caroline said, turning to them again, and walking inside the room. She sat on the edge of the bed, and Stefan noticed Elena was a little unfomfortable, or maybe embarrassed, with their friend's presence. "Last time was already awkward enough." She added, completely nonchalantely, probably not even noticing what she was saying. Confusion filled Elena's expression, and Stefan sent Caroline a deadly glare look. "Ops," Caroline brought her hands to her mouth, like that would stop her from saying anything else. They all knew, though, that nothing could make Caroline stop talking. Ever. "I think I'll just wait for you guys in the living room." She said, quickly finding her way out of the room. Stefan chuckled, not being able to be mad at his friend. She was too spontaneous for her own sake.

"Last time?" Elena asked him, with all the seriousness in the world.

"Um," Stefan sat up on the bed. "She walked in on..." He said awkwardly, furrowing his brows. "Me and Rebekah, you know..."

"Oh my God!" Elena's jaw pratically dropped at the thought of Caroline walking in on such thing. She laughed, earning a serious glare from him.

"Not funny, Elena." He said, trying not to laugh himself. "She didn't see much, we were under the covers." He tried to explain himself, but she kept laughing at him. "Stop laughing!" He said, suddenly moving on top of her and attacking her lips with his.

"God, the mood must have been completely ruinned after that." She said, after his lips left hers, and he moved to a sitting position again.

"Oh, I got us back on track." He said, smugly satisfied with his talents in the bedroom. She rolled her eyes. He thought about how not awkward this conversation was, and it actually surprised him. He thought she'd be jaelous of Rebekah in some way, but she wasn't. At least she wasn't showing it. Maybe now she understood that he loved her, and only her.

"I'm not gonna wait forever, you know?" Caroline yelled. Stefan gave Elena one more kiss before joining Caroline on the living room. The blond shifted in place, trying to contain her excitement with something. Stefan noticed she was holding something behind her back, but couldn't see what it was.

"So, what did you wake us up this early to talk about?" Elena asked.

Caroline quickly held the letter she had on her back, in front of her. Elena couldn't see what it was, but Stefan clearly recognized it, because he took a step forward and looked expectant. She handed him the letter, smiling from ear to ear. He took it from her and scanned it with his eyes, opening a huge smile as well. "I told you they would accept you!" He said, pulling her into a hug. "Congratulations, Care!"

"Accept where, what's going on?" Elena asked, still confused as to why they were so happy.

"Remember I told you I asked to be transferred from Mystic Falls to New York?" Caroline asked, and Elena felt slightly ashamed for not remembering something like that.

"Oh my God, Caroline, Congratulations!" Elena said, pulling Caroline in for a hug as well.

"Now I have to go find an apartment. They said it was a last minute admission which is extremely rude since I have only two weeks left before class star and–"

"Caroline, breathe!" Stefan interrupted her babbling, laughing. "Why don't we take the day to do it tomorrow? I'll come with you."

"Really?" Caroline asked excitedly. Nik wouldn't come with her, she didn't even need to ask. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he just didn't like that she wouldn't be moving in with him. That was his way of arguing with her. She didn't mind, really. He would probably be a lot more trouble than help anyway.

"Of course!" He said, hugging her once again. He just couldn't believe. Him and Elena were working things out and his best friend was moving to his town. It was a little bit too good to be true.

"I'm so excited!" Caroline squealed. "Oh, Rebekah is expecting us to lunch today at her place." The blond said, remembering she had to give him the message.

Stefan groaned. "Oh no, not again!"

"What?" Elena asked him with an amused grin.

"Rebekah can't cook." Caroline told her. "If I can't escape it, neither can you." She warned him, pointing a finger in his direction.

Stefan rolled his eyes while walking to the kitchen. "You staying for breakfast?" He asked. He figured he'd better eat all he could now, so he wouldn't be hungry enough to talk himself into eating Rebekah's food.

"Oh, no I grabbed something on my way here." She said, a devilish smirk appearing on her face. "I'm gonna let you guys _eat_ by yourselves." She told them; her smirking hinting that she knew what they would have for a meal if they were alone. Elena blushed, and Stefan just laughed.

They said their goodbyes to Caroline and had breakfast. Elena yawned after they moved to the couch on the living room, and Stefan decided he loved that look on her. Her hair was still pretty messy from sleep, and she didn't have one bit of make up on her face, giving her a beautiful, natural look. "You can take a nap here if you want to." He told her, wrapping his arms around her tighter.

"Hmm," Elena hummed silently, enjoying having him so close to her. "I might take you up on that." She said, getting comfortable in his arms and resting her head on his shoulder.

"How do you feel about going on a date with me tonight?" He asked suddenly, just as she allowed her eyes to close.

"Umm, a date?" She asked, still with her eyes closed. "I haven't been on a date in a while." She told him, trying to remember the last time she had been out with Damon, just the two of them, but she couldn't set her mind on it.

"Then we're going on our second first date tonight." He kissed the top of her head, as she gave in to sleep. He was a little tired himself, having gone to bed too late to be awake now, but he couldn't bring himself to be mad at Caroline. Not when, after three years, he would finally have his best friend close to him everyday again.

xxxxx

"Bekah!" Stefan groanned as Rebekah made him sit down.

"I don't wanna hear it, Steffy bear." Rebekah said. "Eat your vegetables."

"But mom!" He complained, not losing an opportunity to make fun of her, but horrified that she would make him eat any more at the same time. He didn't even know how he managed to keep the rest of lunch down. He could swear her food was getting worse everyday.

Elena laughed at him, glad that Rebekah wasn't forcing her to eat any more. Caroline and Stefan were right. Her food really sucked. "Come on, Steffy bear." Elena used Rebekah's nickname for him, and he glared at her, clearly not approving of her siding with Rebekah this time.

"I hear broccolis are poisonous." He tried again, pushing his plate away.

"You could have come up with a better one, Steffy bear." Nik said, making fun of him. Nik was too used to his sister's cooking skills that by now he knew not to complain about it, otherwise she would only make him eat more. Stefan made the same mistake every time, though.

"No, seriously." Stefan said, in all seriousness in the world. "People's taste for it is genetic, so you should be arguing with my parents about this." He said, proud of himself for remembering this one. He had read it in a magazine while in the waiting room of his dentist's office, and was surprised he actually remembered it. That sounded like a bunch of bullshit to him, but some scientist said it, so he guessed it must be true.

Rebekah sighed and rolled her eyes, clearly irritated with him. "Fine, don't eat." She said. "But one day you'll come to me starving, and no matter how much you beg, I won't feed you."

"Thanks God!" He said, being smacked in the arm by Rebekah.

They all moved to the living room and sat on the large white letter couch that took up most of Rebekah's wall. Elena look around the house, and it was far too big for someone to live by themselves like the blond girl did, just like Stefan's.

"So, how are we going to celebrate tonight?" Nik asked, turning to Caroline.

"We can't tonight." Stefan said, and Elena noticed a little. It of guilt on his tone for not being able to celebrate with their friend.

"Why not?" Rebekah asked.

"We can go another day." Elena told him, intertwining her fingers with his.

"Go where?" Rebekah asked again, being nosey and not caring.

"On our first second date." Stefan said with a small shy smile, like he was embarrassed to share that information with his friends.

"Aww," Caroline squealed. "There's no way you're rain-checking that because of me." She told them. "You guys to and have your romantic night. We can celebrate tomorrow."

"Or," Rebekah said, not giving them time to reply to Caroline. "We can wait a little and throw you a huge party on Friday."

"Never loses an excuse to host a party, do you, little sis?" Nik smirked, running his hand up and down Caroline's arm, enjoying the idea of this party.

Rebekah looked at Caroline expectantly and the perky blond broke into a smile. "And how can I say no to that?"

As much as Stefan hated big parties, he couldn't help but be a little excited too. Not because of the party itself, but because that Caroline was really moving to there was slowly sinking in. And he couldn't wait to have her there.

xxxxx

After lunch at Rebekah's, Stefan suggested that Elena went shopping with the girls, since he had some stuff he needed to take care of.

He had been very mysterious about what they were doing and where they were going for this date of theirs. Elena complained, saying she didn't know how to dress for surprises, and Stefan – being his usual sweet self – said she would look beautiful in anything. Of course, that was after making a joke about her wearing nothing, which got Elena thinking that she really wouldn't mind that at all.

"Are you really not going to tell me where we are going?"

"Nope." He said. "Keep that blindfold on!" He warned, knowing she would try to be sneaky and spy under it.

"If I trip on something, you better catch me."

"No, Elena, I let you fall right on your face." He joked, laughing. She tried to smack him but her hand didn't even get close to his arm. Damn that blindfold. "Just a little more."

"This thing is itchy." Elena said when he put his hands around her waist, pulling her close. She felt her back being pressed against his chest; the warmth of his body enveloping hers. it was a nice contrast to the wind hitting her face. It wasn't that cold that time of the year, but it was quite chilly there. She wondered where they were.

"You can take it off now." He said silently, into her ear. She quickly pulled it off her face and looked around, trying to figure out where he had brought her.

She gasped, being amazed by the view in front of her. They were at the top of a building. A very tall one, giving them the perfect view of the city. She could see distant lights from buildings and cars as Stefan's arms left her body. She took a few steps closer to the edge, and looked over the one foot tall brick wall separating her from what would be a really painful fall. "Stefan, it's beautiful." She said turning around to look at him. He smiled at her and she couldn't help but let a small smile form on her own lips as well. He was sitting on a wide blanked on the floor, with so many pillows around that it made her want to lay down with him and have long, comfortable night's sleep. Around them there were about one hundred lit candles, giving the environment a romantic and warm look. "Did you do all of this for me?" She asked amazed by the whole thing.

"Do you like it?" He asked, full of hope she would.

"It's wonderful." She said, smiling. He held his hand out for her and she walked towards him, grabbing it and sitting beside him. "Thank you." She said after planting a soft kiss on his lips.

After her lips left his, he pulled her close to him, making her lay down, and in a swift movement, he spun her around and was laying above her. She laughed, surprised with the sudden change of positions, but soon stopped when she felt his lips attack hers.

It was heavenly, the feeling of his lips on hers. It was such a passionate kiss, that for a moment it made Elena forget where they were and what they were supposed to be doing. She just wanted to get lost in him.

That's not what happened though. Stefan parted their lips a few minutes later with a low chuckle. "I think we should eat first." He said, grabbing his phone and sending a quick text.

"Eat what?" She asked, looking around to try and find any hidden picnic baskets he could have sneaked in with them without her knowing. She was blindfolded after all. There wasn't one, though. Stefan smiled as a noise came from the door they had walked through some time before, making Elena raise her look. A waiter came out of it with a bottle of wine and glasses. Elena looked at Stefan quizzically and he shrugged, accepting the glasses and thanking the guy as he left. He handed her one of them and took a sip as she continued to inquire him with her eyes. "Where are we?" She asked.

"My family's company building." He told her. "I love this view."

"I can see why." She said, smiling at it. The door opened again and this time the man came with another one, bringing plates and those little tables you use to have breakfast in bed. Again, after everything was settled, Stefan thanked them and they were gone for good. "Seriously, you didn't have to do this."

"I wanted to." He reassured her.

They talked and laughed, being entirely too happy and not caring. They finished eating sometime later, and Stefan set everything aside, not wanting to call anyone to get the empty plates.

Somehow, Elena ended up lying on his chest, looking at the starry sky above their heads. "That one right there looks like a monkey." Elena giggled.

"When stars start reassembling monkeys it's the sign that you had too much wine." Stefan laughed at her and she tried to smack him. Stefan went back to looking at the sky, and he could actually she the stars organized in a blurry way, actually reassembling a monkey. But he would never tell her that.

Suddenly, she turned around, placing her body completely above his. Without a warning, she captured his lips, and he was more than happy to let her. Stefan's hands moved to her waist securing her and spinning her around, allowing him to be on top this time. He deepened the kiss, as her hands went under his shirt, caressing the strong muscles on his back.

Pretty soon it turned into a hot, full make out session. They didn't know how long exactly they were at it. An hour? More? Elena was the one to pull away first. "Tired of me already?" He teased her, in between breaths.

"How does one get tired of you?" She asked, with the brightest smile he had ever seen on her face.

"Great answer." He winked at her and she moved closed to him, simply resting her back against his chest. His rock hard chest.

"Thank you for bringing me here."

"You're welcome." He said, searching for her hand and intertwining their fingers. They spent a few minutes in silence. A comfortable silence, as they both just enjoyed each others warm body pressed against the other. "I love you so much." Stefan whispered in her ear after a long time of silence and it made Elena shiver. In an excited way. She loved hearing him say that.

"I love you too." She said, turning her face only enough to give him a soft kiss on the lips. "I love you too."

**XXXXX**

**I'm so, so, so sorry for taking so long to update, so I tried to make this chapter a little bit longer than usual to make up for it.**

**What do you guys think of them in a relationship so far? Leave your thoughts on the reviews (: And thank you all for the support and interest in the story! I really appreciate it.**


	19. Chapter 19

Elena woke up and reached for Stefan on the bed, but all her fingers could grab were the empty and cold sheets. Her eyes shot open when she realized he was gone. She scanned the room as she sat up, but he was nowhere in his bedroom. Not bothering to change clothes, she went downstairs, thinking he was probably making breakfast or something, but no sign of him either. Don't panic, Elena. She told herself. Maybe he realized this was a mistake and left her again? But that's his house, if he wanted to get away from her he would kick her out, not leave. That's when she caught a note over the table.

_Went apartment hunting with Caroline. Didn't want to wake you up. Love you. S._

A smile instantly lit up Elena's face. She missed him already.

So it was only her for the day. She figured it would take a while for them to find something for Caroline. Maybe they wouldn't even find it within one day of searching. She thought of her options. She could take a walk around the city, or stay home and watch something from Stefan's movie collection.

Before she could make her mind, she heard a noise coming from the door. Stefan was home awfully early. Something wasn't right.

When she got to the living room, she didn't see Stefan, though. A blond figure was standing by the door, locking it behind her. "Does everyone really just barge in in this house?" Elena asked in a playful tone. "You know, where I come from knocking is still a thing."

"It's not my fault Stefan hides his spare key in the most obvious place ever." Rebekah answered with a smile. She was really growing fond of Elena. Of course she was. Elena made Stefan happy and that's all she ever wanted.

"Stefan's out with Caroline." Elena said, figuring that's why Rebekah was there.

"Oh, I know," the blond girl said. "I came to keep you company."

"Oh?" Elena said, surprised.

"Unless you don't want me to." Rebekah said, misunderstanding Elena's surprise.

"No, I do," Elena smiled reassuringly. "I just forget you're doing this 'getting along' thing for Stefan, that's all." She says as politely as she can, having no intention of being rude to Rebekah.

"Are you ignoring the possibility of me actually starting to like you?" Rebekah laughed, making Elena laugh a little as well.

"Who knew that could actually happen, huh?" Elena joked.

"You, my friend, make Stefan so happy, happiest than I've ever seen him... I can't _not_ like you." Rebekah admited, and it made Elena smiled. Hearing that she made Stefan happy for the first time, after knowing that she was the reason he was unhappy for so long, somehow made her feel better. She knew she still had a lot to make up for, but he was happy. So was she, and, to be honest, that was all she could have ever asked for.

"Thank you." Elena smiled. "You're a great friend, you know, Stefan adores you."

"Of course he does." Rebekah said, pulling a cocky grin across her face. "I'm amazing." Elena laughed, and Rebekah stood up from the couch suddenly, like she had just remembered she needed to be somewhere. "Come on," the blond said, already walking towards the stairs. "We are going to have a busy day today." She added with a smile as Elena followed her to whatever Rebekah had planned for them.

XXXXX

"So you didn't have sex?" Caroline asked, bringing the last of the french fries of her plate to her mouth.

"Is sex all you think about?" Stefan teased her, taking a sip of his soda. They had had an exhausting morning looking for a place for Caroline, without any success. They had just stopped to have lunch real quick before getting back to it. He didn't expect them to find anything so soon, and they still had a busy day of searching in the aftenoon, they would find her something she liked. And if they didn't, they'd keep looking until they found the perfect one, even if it took them an entire month of searching. She could stay at his place or at Nik's until they found it. "No, we didn't." He said, noticing he hadn't answered her question.

"Well, no," she laughed. "I just figured you'd be eager to do it already, jugging by the way you look at her."

"How do I look at her?" He asked curiously, but figured he already knew the answer to it.

Caroline laughed, once again. "Well, at the club you were looking at her like you could rip her clothes off and take her right there." Stefan blushed slightly and looked around them, probabLy wondering if anyone had heard Caroline. She looked at him, amused, and decided to continue, just to tease him. "And at Rebekah's house you looked at her like you wanted to get out of there and take her at home."

"Fine, I get it." He said, before she could even finish her sentence. "I might have a hard time controling myself when it comes to her." He said shyly, but a smile crept on his lips, and he couldn't help it.

"I'm so happy for you." She said, grabbing his hand across the table and squeezing it cheerfully.

"Thank you." He smiled, and Caroline realized she hadn't seem him smile so bright in so long... Maybe never. "Everything is somehow perfect," he continued. "Elena and I back together; you are moving out here; even Damon, he's good with Katherine for once, and we talk sometimes." Caroline thought about it for a moment, deciding it sounded quite sad, despite the hapiness in his tone. She knew that even though Damon and Stefan were trying to bond and rescue the relationship they had, it would never be the same thing for them. With Elena as well, but it was different. They were brothers before, and surely they will be again, but when a relationship as theirs is broken, it's hard to fix it. It can come back on it's feet, but there would always be little cracks and scars they would never be able to get over. She smiled, though.

"I don't want to ruin your good mood, but," Caroline started, taking the risk that it could upset him. "Have you two talked about how things are going to be when she has to go back home and there's a 7 hour drive separating you two?"

He didn't seem upset by it, though. "We'll cross that bridge in a couple of weeks." He said. He wasn't upset, but the bright smile on his face had faded for a moment. "Right now I'm just glad she's here with me." He added, making an effort for that smile to come back. It worked.

"Well, let's get back to our search so you can go back home to your girl, then, lover boy." Caroline lightened the mood, making Stefan smile even wider, while he looked for a waiter to bring them the check.

XXXXX

Elena heard the door opening, then closing. Her lips instantly curved into a smile, as she saw Stefan walking in her direction. Even though he looked exhausted, he had the brightest smile on his lips, and Elena reminded herself she was the one who had put it there. Just the sight of her. He sat beside her on the couch and leaned in, giving her a surprisingly passionate kiss. She had to grab at the sides of the couch, due to the intensity of it. She felt her body being lowered down, pushed by his own body. He deatached their lips just so he could whisper to her. "I missed you." His lips found hers again before she could reply. She felt him smile against her mouth.

"Hi," she said, simply, while grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him closer. He pulled away from her, eventually, sitting with a certain distance from her in order not to have the urge to touch her every second. It didn't help one bit, but at least he could say he tried. He came closer and she sat with her back pressed to his torso, resting her head on his shoulders. "So, how did it go with Caroline?"

"We didn't find anything," he told her, grabbing her hand and intertwining their fingers. "We scheduled some visits for next week, though, we should find something." He added.

"I'm sure Nik will be happy that she has to stay with him until then." Elena said. For the little she knew, Nik was even more needy than Stefan was. She didn't think that was possible, but he was.

"I'm sure he will." Stefan chuckled. "What did you do today?" He asked, leaning over her and kissing her shoulder.

She raised her free hand and showed him her newly done red nails. "Spa day." She told him. "Rebekah took me." She said, turning to see his reaction.

"She did?" He asked, surprised. "So you two really are friends now?"

"I guess so." She said, smiling. She liked Rebekah and she haven't made any new friends in a long while. It felt good. "She's been surprisingly nice to me considering she hated me not so long ago." She added. "Oh, and no death threats this time."

"I already told you she didn't hate you." He said, laughing lightly. "And it's good to know my girlfriend's life is not in danger." Elena turned to look at him, with an expression he couldn't read. "What?"

"I'm still getting used to the word." She explained, returning to her previous position and making herself comfortable again.

"Girlfriend," Stefan lowered his head and whispered it in her ear, sending shivers through her entire body. He ran his hand through the lenth of her arm, leaving goosebumps in the spots their skin connected for a brief second. Elena though he was going to stop when he reached her hand, but he continued brushing his fingers lightly agaisnt the skin of her tights up to the one spot above her knee, when he couldn't reach any further, and pulled it back up. Elena released a breath she didn't even know she was holding and it didn't go unnoticed by Stefan. "I missed touching you." Stefan whispered to her. She knew he wasn't talking about the day they spent apart, but about the years before. To be honest, she missed his touch as well. "Kissing you." He added, still as a whisper, removing the straps of her summer dress and bra from her shoulder and planting an open mouthed kiss there. Elena released a silent moan and felt Stefan's lips curve into a smile agaisnt her shoulder, clearly satisfied with the effect he had on her. "Good to know I can still do that to you." He said, getting an irritated groan out of her.

"Will you stop bragging and come here?" She said, turning around on his embrace. She leaned down and captured his lips in a slow, sensual kiss. She seated on his lap, and he put his hand on her lower back, pulling her closer. He moved his hands to her tights and slowly lifted them, sneaking them under the skirt of her dress. He deepened the kiss, and if her mouth wasn't busy, she would gasp at the intensity of it. His hands started fondling her hips and the sensation of it was unbelievable.

She couldn't remember a time she had felt like he was making her feel right then. She felt like her body was going to explode, and at the same time, his body had this safe aura to it, like nothing could harm her as long as she didn't leave his embrace. It was...

It was magical, and it was what she had always wanted, without even knowing.

She loved him.

She loved him so unbelievably much.

"Bedroom," she managed to get out when pulling away just slightly to take a breath.

"Yeah?" He asked, wanting her to be sure of it, yet not being able to focus and form a better question.

"Now." She ordered, and she didn't need to do it twice. He was already standing up with her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, securing herself, and never letting their lips part for longer than a moment for oxygen. In his arms she was probably as light as a feather. His strong, muscular arms. She ran her hands along them, feeling every curve, trying to memorize again what she already knew by heart.

As soon as they got to his room upstairs, he pushed her against a wall, roughly and passionately enough to leave her breathless, but she never stopped kissing him. Their bodies were hot against each other's, being only separated by two thin layers of clothing. Ones that Stefan didn't appreciate much. He put her down, still pressing her against the wall, and her hands instantly went to the hem of his shirt, pulling it up and over his head. She threw it on the other side of the room, not bothering to look where it landed. They wouldn't be needing it anytime soon, according to her plans.

His lips were at hers again. Being separated from her body for a second was unberable, like something pulled him to her. Like gravity. Like he belonged with her and this, that feeling, was just the universe's way of mantaining the balance, keeping them in their rightful place: each other's arms.

He moved his lips to her neck, and she released a silent moan, indicating she was enjoying herself far more and she would like him to know. His hands found their way to her back, where the zipper from her dress was, and he pulled it down slowly. The dress fell on her feet and she kicked it away, pushing him closer to her.

But he took a step back, and it confused her. For a brief moment fear flashed in her eyes. Fear he had changed his mind, that he didn't want her anymore, but as soon as she saw the look on his face, she felt silly for even considering that possibility.

He was looking at her like an animal looks at it's prey. With hunger, antecipation. He looked at her with lust, like there was no woman in the world that would even compare to her. He looked at her like someone who has been prieved from their vice for so long, and now, they were finally able to have a taste of it again. He looked at her in amazement, because he couldn't believe just how beautiful she was. Not only on the outside, but truly beautiful inside as well.

But most of all, he looked at her like he loved her.

He remembered Caroline's earlier words about the way he looks at Elena, and now he understood what she meant.

"Are you going to stare at me all night?" Elena asked; a devilish smile on her face as she took a step closer to him. And another one, and another one.

"I might." He answered and though she looked at him impatiently for a moment, she started giggling. She put her hands on his chest, and started pulling them down, slowly, teasingly. He felt her lips on his chest as her hands reached the button of his jeans, undoing them. His pants feel to the ground like her dress had, and he stepped out of them, walking with her towards the bed. He pushed her gently on the bed and fell above her, pining her with his body. She giggled again, but he silenced her with another kiss.

The warmth of his body did crazy things to her. Everything about him did. She wanted to feel him, love him.

He unhooked her bra, and started paying attention to other spots that weren't necessarily her mouth. He wanted to taste every inch of her. So he did.

Elena bend her body in the direction of his kisses, and moaned everything he did something she particularly enjoyed. Which happened a lot. His lips on her skin felt like heaven.

Slowly, she lowered her hands, that were on his back, to the waistband of his boxers. She pulled it down, and he kicked them away. He did the same with her panties, and now there were no layer between them, nothing.

He felt his skin burning as he kept pressing his body against hers. Her skin was hot too. Maybe if they could provide enough heat, they'd be able to melt into each other. It's what the whole thing felt like anyway.

Like fire.

That burned and burned them constantly, so painfully pleasurable that it made want to scream, yet they couldn't make a sound. It made them weak and vulnerable. It left scars. Not visible ones, no. Both of their touches had the power to leave a mark on each other. Not on their skin, not even on their hears, but on their minds. And both knew they would dream about that smallest touch that night, and think about it the following day. They would feel and crave for each other's touch on their skin for the rest of their lives, and the only comfort they could find on that thought was the fact that they had each other to temporarily indulge their growing desire. And to do it again, and again, and again, and again.

He loved her.

And she loved him.

That was all that mattered.

**XXXXX**

**Sooo, I can't say how sorry I am for keeping you waiting for so long for this update. I thought I'd get more time to write with my two weeks schoold break, but it was actually the opposite. And then I struggled a bit to write the sex part, and I know it didn't turn out to be any good, but I couldn't keep you waiting any longer, so here it is. Please, leave your thoughts on the reviews, they have been really, really helpful. (:**


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